SX̱ENIEṈYEW̱ȻNEsI,TW̱ESENĆOŦEN?—HowisitthatIhavecometospeakSENĆOŦEN?:MyReflectionsonLearningandSpeakingSENĆOŦEN

by

PENÁĆ–G.DavidUnderwoodBachelorofFineArtsinVisualArts,UniversityofVictoria,2011

AProjectSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeof

MASTEROFEDUCATION

IntheprogramofIndigenousLanguageRevitalization

InthedepartmentofCurriculum&InstructionUniversityofVictoria

©PENÁĆ-G.DavidUnderwood,2017UniversityofVictoria

Allrightsreserved.Thisthesismaynotbereproducedinwholeorinpart,byphotocopyorothermeans,withoutthepermissionoftheauthor

SupervisoryCommittee

Dr.EwaCzaykowska-Higgins,(DepartmentofLinguistics)Co-Supervisor

Dr.SonyaBird,(DepartmentofLinguistics)Co-Supervisor

ii

Abstract

ThisprojectexplorestheexperiencesofadultslearningtheIndigenouslanguageofSENĆOŦEN,

intheWSÁNEĆ(Saanich)languagegroup.Itlooksatadultlanguageacquisitionexperiences,

andexaminesthetheoryandpracticeofIndigenouslanguagerevitalization.TheMentor-

ApprenticeshipProgram(MAP)andtheSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN[SENĆOŦENspringboard]

LanguageApprenticeshipProgramareexaminedthroughanauto-ethnographiclensasawayof

documentingapersonallearningjourney—fromlanguage-learningapprenticetolanguage

speaker,andfinallytolanguageteacher.Themetaphoroftravellingbycanoeisusedasaway

ofreflectingontheSENĆOŦENlanguage-learningjourney,allowingaconsiderationofthe

optimalconditionsforlearningSENĆOŦEN,evenasoptimalconditionsarenecessarytotravel

bycanoeonthewater.Thequestionthatguidesthisproject—SX̱ENI,EṈYEW̱ȻNEsTW̱E

SENĆOŦEN?[HowisitthatthatIhavecometospeakSENĆOŦEN?]—isexploredthroughthe

auto-ethnographicreflectionprocessandtellsthestoryofhowSENĆOŦENwaslearnedand

howitiscurrentlybeingspoken.ThestoryrecountshowSENĆOŦENwaslearnedwiththehelp

oftheeldersoftheW̱SÁNEĆcommunity;itdescribestheguidingprinciplesandtraditional

teachingsoftheseelders,andrecountstheself-motivatingandexternalmotivationalfactors,

includingthepersonalbeliefsandpracticesthatenhancedthelearningandspeakingof

SENĆOŦEN.Variouslanguageacquisitionandlanguagerevitalizationtheoriesandpractices

havebeenexaminedinthecourseofthisreflection,includingsocioculturaltheory,monitor

theory,affectivefilterandaffectivelanguageintimacy.Indigenousresearchmethodologies

havealsobeenexaminedinordertoaligntheprojectwithcurrentIndigenousresearch

practicesthatfocusonrelationality,andthestorytellerasresearcher,andtakeintoaccount

iii

Indigenousepistemologiesandtraditionalworldviewsthatarefoundedonrespectanda

holisticsenseofinterconnectedness.

iv

TableofContentsAbstract .............................................................................................................................ii

TableofContents.................................................................................................................iv

Acknowledgements..............................................................................................................vi

Dedicationxi

TW̱E,NOW̱SENSENESX̱IÁM—IWillBeginMyStory:Introduction........................................1

Chapter1:QENÁNW̱ȽTE—Weareseeing/forecastingtheweather.......................................3ESE—Me:Locatingmyself..................................................................................................3

NEĆ,LÁ,EI,NEĆELÁṈEN—Myplace,placement,andancestry........................................6

SYESESȻSUNIȽW̱IYELḴEN,ISTESI,OX̱NESEṈTI,UḴÁYES—AbriefhistoryofSENĆOŦENreturninguntilourcontemporarystate...................................................................7

NELELÁ,NEṈTEN—Myaudience(mywitnesses,mylisteners)........................................15

NES,ḰÁLEḴEN—MyVoice...............................................................................................17TheoreticalFramework–PENÁĆTŦENESNÁ(MynameisPENÁĆ)................................17

TOW̱OLU,SṮO,ṮEMTŦESȻÁĆELȻsYÁ—Theweatherisgoodenough(justright)togo).ĆÁȽȻNEsTW̱ETELŦINEṮPENÁĆ—IjustcametounderstandthemeaningofPENÁĆ....................................................................................................................19

SHOIsNESX̱IÁMNESLÁ,LESETTIÁ—Themotifsofmystorythatinformthiswork........21ŚW̱,XEĆS,ILEṈ—Methodology..........................................................................................23

Chapter2:EȽTELIĆ,EṈȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽ—Weareloadingupthecanoe.............................29NESĆȺLEȻENTOLŦḴOȽEĆTENI,W̱IJELEḴI,ȻSESNEPENEḴs—WorkingwithŦḴOȽEĆTENandW̱IJELEḴ,andanoutlineofsomeoftheirprinciplesandpeachings...29

HÁ,EQȻSUNIȽELÁ,NEW̱sEȻSESELEL,W̱ÁN—RememberingthesoundofthelanguagewithŦḴOȽEĆTEN’selders.......................................................................................30

HÁ,EQȻSUNIȽÍYŚX̱ENÁṈs—Rememberingagoodway...............................................31

QEN,SOTSW̱ENŚW̱,EWESI,NEĆEṈ,TEṈTŦUNIȽI,TOTELNEW̱s—BecarefulnottolaughatotherswhentheyarelearningSENĆOŦEN:Theissueofmindingtheself-confidenceofournewlearners.............................................................................31

STÁṈYEW̱ȻE,ĆÁ,ŚW̱,ÍYsHOȻsEWESI,ḰÁL,TW̱ETŦESḰÁL?—Whatelseislanguagegoodforifnotspoken?..........................................................................................32

QOM,QOMȻSUNIȽMEQELLO—Strengthfromhumilityandpatience..........................33

ṮELEȻÁNEṈTW̱SW̱OL—Confidenceandthepowerofencouragement:Justletyourselfsearchyourmind...................................................................................................35

Chapter3:HI,ḴETȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽSUYÁ,DÁȻEL—Welaunchthecanoetogoacrosstotheotherside...........................................................................................................38

v

ŚX̱ENÁṈsȻNEsI,TOTLENEW̱—ThewaysthatIhavelearnedSENĆOŦEN........................38

STOȽESSENȻETŦESȻÁ,ȽTESXÁLEȽ—Ireadwhatwehavewritten...........................38

SDIWIEȽ:NIȽNESȻÁ,NES,ḰEL,NEȻELEṮXÁLSI,ȻSEMEQSTÁṈ—Prayer:Thisismycommunionwiththesacredcreatorandallthings...............................................40

NESĆȺȻNEsÍY,SOTTW̱NES,TEL,ŦINI,W̱TÁLḴEN—Someexercisesthathavehelpedmedevelopcomprehensionandspeechresponsetime.......................................42

HE,HOISENOLȻNEsŚDEMȻES,OȽNESULELÁNEṈI,ḰÁL,ḰÁLSET—Iamdrivinginmycaralone,listeningandspeakingtomyself...........................................................45

ȻEMLEW̱sTŦESḰÁLI,U,ŚW̱,HÍsȻSUNIȽSȻÁsEṮSENĆOŦENNES,QEN,NEW̱—SENĆOŦENrootwordsandsuffixesthatIhavenoticed........................................47

ḰEL,NEȻELTW̱OL.KÁLTW̱OLTIÁSḰÁL—Justconverse,justspeakthislanguage........51

ȻȽ,ĆE,OUESSENȻENES,ŦE,IWENȻNEsI,ḰÁL,TELNEṈENE—IamusingmyauthenticfeelingswhenIspeakwithmydaughter................................................................53

Mytwominds:Learningoftheworldalloveragain........................................................57

Mymotivations:I,TW̱STI,TEMOLENŚW̱,ĆȺII,U,MELELḴ,EQȻȽI,YEYO,SEṈETŦESḰÁLȽTE—Workhardanddon’tforgettoplaywithourlanguage:WorkandleisurewithSENĆOŦEN..........................................................................................60

ĆȺII,ÍY,TESOLTŦUNIȽI,TOTELNEW̱I,ḰÁL—Workandleisureoflanguagelearningandspeaking.................................................................................................................60

Chapter4:JÁṈ,NOṈETȽTE—Wemanagedtoarrivehome.................................................63ESEB,TSENSE—Iwillbringittoanend:Conclusion........................................................63

References...........................................................................................................................67

ListofFigures

Figure1:MapshowingSaanichterritory,fromTheCare-Takers,PhilipK.Paul,1995,p.20.......................................................................................................................................5

vi

Acknowledgements

ENÁNSENU,JE,ÁȽȻSUNENIȽIYEĆȺIETŦESȻÁ,ȽTESḰÁLTIÁ,SENĆOŦEN.LO,EȻO,XÁLESET

SUTW̱EĆȺ,ĆIȻSUNIȽṮE,NOṈETsEȻSEW̱IYELḴEN,ISTTŦESENĆOŦEN.SĆȺsȻSESEL,ELW̱ÁN

TŦÁ,ENEṈI,ETIÁ,ÁNEȻȻSUMEQOLU,ĆȺIEṮSENĆOŦEN.NIȽNES,JIJEȽȻE,ĆÁ,TŦÁ,ENEṈ.

HÍSW̱ḴESIÁM.

IwouldliketothankallthosewhohaveworkedtokeepourSENĆOŦENlanguagealive.There

werescarcelyanyspeakersofSENĆOŦENleft,anditisalivetodaybecauseofthosewho

decidedthatSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalizationisimportant,andwhoworkedsohardearlyon;

itisalivebecauseofourknowledgeableeldersandbecauseofthoseworkingonlanguage

revitalizationtoday.Iamgratefulforthat.Thankyoumyrespectedones.

ThereareNEṈS,JIJEȽȻNEsṮIȻȽOṈEST[manythanksthatIwouldliketogive].HÍU

JIJEȽSEN[Iamexceptionallygrateful]tomylateelderswhopavedtheway,andwhoworked

sotirelesslytoensurethatfuturegenerationswouldinheritanauthenticSENĆOŦENlanguage:

MygrandfatherDavidElliott(PENÁĆ),ErnieOlson,StellaWright,lateElsieClaxton,ViWilliams,

EarlClaxtonSr.,IvanMorrisSr.,RaySam,SammySam,MansonPelkey,GabePelkey,Grace

Horne,VictorJoseph,VictorUnderwoodSr.,GabeBartleman,Philip(PELEḴ)Pelkey,ChrisPaul

Sr.,RichardHarry,CeceliaJim,BaptisteJimmy,AnneJimmy,TheresaSmith,andIrvine

(Popeye)Jimmy.

ṮÁUȻNEsENÁNU,JIJEȽ[Ialsoreallygivethanks]tothosewhoareheretodayand

havestruggledforsomanyyearstomakeanimpactonSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalizationin

W̱SÁNEĆ:NETÁN[mymother],ȻOSINIYE[LindaElliott],NESÁĆS[myuncle],STOLȻEȽ[John

Elliott],KÁNTENOT[HelenJack],LavinaCharles,BelindaClaxton,EstherHarry,MaryJack,Ivy

Morris,ThelmaUnderwood,LouClaxton,EdiePelkey,andSandraPelkey.

vii

ŦE,ITOLU,JIJEȽSENEṮ[Itrulygivethanksto]thoseindividualswhohaverecently

takentheinitiativeandhaveventuredintothemostchallengingofdomainstodate,the

SENĆOŦENimmersionenvironment:SX̱EDŦELISIYE[ReneeSampson],PENÁW̱EṈElliott,

MENEŦIYE[ElishaElliott],NENSIMU[RitaMorris],JacquelineJim,KÁNTENOT[HelenaNorris],

WIYAḴSEMKE[SandraHoward],ȻELIXELWET[BeaSam],ĆULÁȾE[RomaineUnderwood],

ŦELAXIYE[GailSam],SIOLTENOT[MadelineBartleman],STIWET[JimElliott],XEDXELMEȽOT

[JanElliott],andSDEMOXELTEN[IanSam].

U,ŚW̱ELO₭EȽTEI,U,NEȾ,OMETȽTEȻE,ĆÁ,TIÁ,SĆȺEȻsHELI,TI,IW̱sEṮSENĆOŦEN

[WearefamilyandofonemindandspiritintheworkwedoinrevivingSENĆOŦEN].

ṮÁ,ȻNEsENÁNU,JIJEȽSENEṮ[Ialsogivethanksto]TyeQELEQSEĆENSwallow,who

simply“getsit,”whounderstandslanguagerevitalizationandhadtheforesightandrelationality

toconnectonmultiplelevelswiththeneedsofourcollectiveSENĆOŦENrevitalizationefforts.

Yourguidance,leadership,andadministrationhavebeeninvaluabletothegrowthand

prosperityofSENĆOŦENinW̱SÁNEĆ.

ĆEḴNES,JIJEȽEṮ[Abigthanksto]TimothyMontlerforworkingwithoureldersand

preservingauthenticSENĆOŦENthatisawindowthatallowsustorefertothe“oldlanguage.”

And,especially,abigthankyouforyourtirelessworktodevelopaSENĆOŦENdictionary.You

haveprovidedameansforlanguagesecuritythatmighthaveotherwisebeenjustadream.

ṮÁ,ȻNEsJIJEȽEṮBISEJTENKenFoster.Youhavebeenagreathelptoourrevitalization

effortsandwereoneofthefirsttoopenthedoortothepotentialoftechnology,suchasbasic

computerprograms.Andyouwerethereduringoneofourearlyandmuch-needed

breakthroughsinSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalization(longbeforemyinvolvement).

viii

ṮÁ,ȻNEsJIJEȽEṮXELTENPeterBrand.Youwerealsoabigpartoftheearlyand

much-neededbreakthrough.Yourvisionanddeterminationbroughtusintothecontemporary

eraofdigitalandsocialmedia,whichhaveprovidedthemostcurrentmeansofoutreach.

I,U,JIJEȽSENEṮ[AndIgivethanksto]theW̱SÁNEĆSchoolBoard,andthosewhohave

supportedSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalizationinspiteoftheburdenthatsuchanundertaking

entails:TELX̱ILEMCurtisOlson,BeckyClifford,RachelleClifford,andMarianneGladstone.

I,ṮÁ,ȻNEsENÁNU,JIJEȽEṮ[Ialsoreallythankthe]LinguisticsandIndigenous

EducationdepartmentsfordevelopingsuchaninvaluablerelationshipwithourW̱SÁNEĆ

community.ENÁNSENU,JE,ÁȽEṮ:Dr.EwaCzaykowska-Higgins,Dr.SonyaBird,Dr.Peter

DENOX̱TENJacobs,Dr.LornaWilliams,JanetLeonard,Dr.ClaireTurner,Dr.SuzanneUrbanczyk,

Dr.OnowaMcIvor,AlikiMarinakis,Dr.NickXELŦOLTW̱Claxton,Dr.MarionCaldecott,Dr.Leslie

Saxon,Dr.CarmenRodriguezdeFrance,Dr.TrishRosborough,andCJBungay.Youhaveopened

thedoorforW̱SÁNEĆtojourneyintonewdomainsoflanguagerevitalization.

NES,JIJEȽȻSUNENIȽIYEĆȺIEȻSEW̱IYELḴEN,ISTESȻSESȻÁsSḰÁLsI,U,EȻOSTESEȻs

ÍYSX̱ENÁṈsTŦÁ,ENEṈ[Igivethankstothosewhoareworkingtorevitalizetheirlanguagesand

whoshowusotherwaysofgoingaboutthework].IraisemyhandstotheChiefAtahmSchool

(theAdamsLakelanguageimmersionschool),theHawaiianimmersionschools,andmore

recently,theIndigenousLanguageInstitute(SantaFe)andalloftheirlanguagerevivalists—for

showingourSENĆOŦENrevivalistswayswhichhavehelpedustoĆ,ȽEȻ,NOṈETTŦESENĆOŦEN

[havesuccessin]SENĆOŦEN.IalsoraisemyhandstoDr.StephenGreymorningforprovidingus

withhismethodology—anotherofthemanytoolsinourrevitalizationarsenal.

ix

ṮÁUȻNEsJIJEȽMEQȻSUNIȽ[Ialsogivethankstoallof]theFirstPeoples’Cultural

CouncilforopeningthedoorstotheMentorApprenticeshipMethodology(MAP),andenabling

ustoconnectwithoureldersinawaythatwouldnothavehappenedotherwise—namely

engaginginlanguageimmersionwithoureldersthroughtheMAPmethod(amongother

things).

ENÁNSENU,JIJEȽMEQȻSUNIȽSCUȻELTŦEW̱SENĆOŦEN,IST[Ialsothankeveryone

whoisenrolledintheW̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTProgram].U,ḴÁYESSW̱ȻE,ĆÁ,ȽÁȻ,ȽEȻ,ŚENsȻSE

I,ȽEȻ,SILEṈsEṮSENĆOŦEN[YouarethepresentfeetofSENĆOŦENlanguagetransmissionand

succession].

ṮÁ,SENU,ŦE,ÁSESEȻSESCUȻELsȻSESṮELITKEȽEṮLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱[Ialso

thankthechildrenwhoarelearningatLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱].YEḴSENENŚW̱,ȻILETHÁLEEȻs

ŚX̱ENÁṈsU,SQȺȽTEI,TW̱Ć,PIWETETIÁ,ÁNEȻENSUÍY,SOTȽTE[Ihopethatyouwillreveal

waysthatwedonotyetrecognize,sothatyoureffortswillmakeusevenbetter].

NES,JIJEȽSIÁMNEŚÍEȽ[Mythankstomyrespectedelderrelative],KevinPaul,for

sparkinginitialinterestinrevivingSENĆOŦEN,somanyyearsagonow.Youtaughtmeafew

phrasesthatwereoutsidethecommonlyknownwordsandphrases,whichtriggeredinmean

earlyseedofinterest.

ḴELÁTSENU,JIJEȽNETÁNȻOSINIYEI,NESÁĆSSTOLȻEȽ.HIŦȻENsĆȺITIÁ,SḰÁLI,U,

ĆSELÁ,EEṮNEȻILIYEȻNEsTW̱ETOLNEW̱ȻSUNIȽṮITIÁ,SḰÁL(Again,mythankstomy

motherandmyunclewhohavecarriedthislanguageforsolong;itisfromyouthatIhavecome

toknowthatourlanguageisimportant).

x

I,HÍUȻNEsI,JIJEȽNESȻÁ,NEŚW̱ELO₭EEŦENESTOLESI,ŦENEṈENE.EUQNES,TÁ,

ȻNEsĆȺITŦUSTÁṈOLENŚW̱,EWESI,ȻENTOLESE[Ithankmyfamily,mywife,andmychild,

forIbelievethatIwouldnothaveaccomplishedanythingwereyounotwithme].

HÍSW̱ḴESIÁMNEȻILIYE.ENÁNU,ṮITŦENSĆȺHÁLE[Thankyouall.Yourworkisvery

valuable].

xi

Dedication

U,S,JIJEȽȻEEȽÁ,ENEṈNEĆELÁṈENI,NESELELW̱ÁNLEI,TW̱W̱UĆISTEṈSENȻO.I,ṮÁ,ȻȽ

ŚW̱,ĆȺ,ĆIsȻSESȻÁsSḰÁLs[Thisisdedicatedtomyancestorsandmylateelderswhotaught

me.Itisalsoforthosewhoareworkingontheirownlanguages].

NEŚW̱,ṮIsTŦESENĆOŦENI,NEŚW̱,ṮIsNEŚW̱ELO₭E.SIÁMNEṈENEI,SIÁMNESTOLES.

1

TW̱E,NOW̱SENSENESX̱IÁM—IWillBeginMyStory:Introduction

Mystorycontainsthenotionofajourney—whereIamgoingandtheeventsthathappenalong

theway.ForthisstoryweareI,DO,DEQ[goinghome].HomeisSENĆOŦENandIamreturning.I

amtravellingthroughthestagesofmySENĆOŦENjourney,SNEW̱EȽ,OȽȻNEsYÁ[Igoby

canoe].Today,IcanspeakSENĆOŦEN.Itisdifficulttopin-pointanexact,singlereasonwhyIdo

speakmylanguagebecausetherearenumerousreasons.Andso,theburningquestionthat

motivatedthispaperis“SX̱ENI,EṈYEW̱ȻNEsTW̱ESENĆOŦEN?”[WhyisitthatIhavecometo

speakSENĆOŦEN?].

StephenKrashen(1982)hypothesizedthatlearningandacquisitionaredistinctfrom

eachother(p.10).His“monitortheory”proposesthatacquisitionisasubconsciousprocess,

whilelearningisaconsciousprocess(Krashen,1981,p.1;1982,p.15).Thispaperisanauto-

ethnographicreflectionthatlooksatmyexperiencesofSENĆOŦENlearning,acquisition,and

speaking.Thisismystory,whichwillreflectwhyIspeakmylanguage,havingmadethejourney

fromapprenticetomentorviatheSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENLanguageApprenticeandthe

Master-MentorApprenticeshipProgram(MAP)undertheauspicesoftheFirstPeoples’Cultural

Council1.IhavemadethejourneyfrombeinganovicelearnertoaspeakerofSENĆOŦENSḰÁL

(SENĆOŦENlanguage).

IwillalsoprovideabriefhistoryofSENĆOŦENSḰÁLrevitalizationinW̱SÁNEĆ—fromour

earlybeginningstotheemergenceoftheSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN[SENĆOŦENlanguage

apprenticeshipprogram],andtheLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱[SENĆOŦENImmersionProgram].This

historyhasalsobeenrecountedfromdifferentperspectivesbyJacquelineJim(2016),and

1TheprogramisdescribedintheFirstPeoples’CulturalCouncilHandbook(2012).

2

ReneeSampson(2014).AsIreviewthehistoryoftheSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalizationin

W̱SÁNEĆIwillconsidermyownlearningandlanguageacquisitionexperiences,andkeepin

mindmygratitudeforthosewhohaveworkedtowardSENĆOŦENrevitalization—inthisway

honouringandthankingthosewhomadeimportantcontributionstothepreservationand

revivalofSENĆOŦEN.

Iwillspeaktothetopicsnotedaboveinthefollowingsequence:Chapter1,QENÁNW̱

ȽTE[Weareseeing/forecastingtheweather];Chapter2,EȽTELIĆ,EṈȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽ[Weare

loadingupthecanoe];Chapter3,HI,ḴETȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽSUYÁ,DÁȻEL[Wearelaunchingthe

canoetogoacrosstotheotherside];andChapter4,JÁṈ,NOṈETȽTE[Wehavemanagedto

arrivehome].

3

Chapter1:QENÁNW̱ȽTE—Weareseeing/forecastingtheweather

ÍYSȻÁĆELO?ÍY,ILEṈȻE,ĆÁ,TŦESȻÁĆELNESULÁSETSENEŚW̱,YÁ[Isitagoodday?Thedayis

gettingbetter,clearingup,soIwillpreparemyselftotravel].

ESE—Me:Locatingmyself

ESEPENÁĆI,ĆSELÁ,ESENEṮW̱SÁNEĆEȻSEÁLELEṈȻsSNÁsEṮSȾAUTW̱.ȻOSINIYEŦENE

TÁNI,ȻESTENȺTŦENEMÁN.ĆSELÁ,ETŦENESILELETŦENESȻÁ,NESNÁ,ȻSUNIȽLEPENÁĆ

EȻSEMÁNsLEŦENETÁN.I,U,ȻELŦIMIYEȻŦENESILELEEȻŦETÁNsLEŦENETÁN.

ŦIWONEMOTŦENESILEEȻŦETÁNsTŦENEMÁN.I,U,SX̱IHOLEĆEPȻSENESILELEEȻSEMÁNs

LETŦENEMÁN.

PENÁĆismyancestralW̱SÁNEĆname,andGeorgeDavidUnderwoodismyWestern

givenname;IamfromW̱SÁNEĆ[Saanich]andamamemberoftheSȾÁUTW̱[Tsawout]reserve.

MymotherisȻOSINIYEandmyfatherisȻESTENȺ.MyW̱SÁNEĆnamecomesfrommylate

grandfather,PENÁĆ[DavidElliott],mymother’sfather.Mylategrandmotheronmymother’s

sidewasknownasȻELŦIMIYE.Mylategrandfatheronmyfather’ssidewasknownas

SX̱IHOLEĆEP,andmygrandmotheronmyfather’ssideisknownasŦIWONEMOT.

WhenIintroducemyself,itiscustomaryinW̱SÁNEĆtoidentifymyparentsand

grandparents,andtosaywhereIcomefrom.Accordingtoourtraditionitisimportanttolet

othersknowwhoI“belongto,”andwhereI“comefrom.”Thismeansidentifyingmyfamily,my

ancestors,ourculturalpractices,andtowhichspecificplacesIamlinked.Iholdtothistradition

heretohonourmyancestorsandmyfamilystillpresenttoday.Insodoing,Iamhonouredas

well.

TheterritoryofW̱SÁNEĆ[theSaanichpeople]islocatedonthesoutheastendof

VancouverIslandandontheSaanichPeninsulaofBritishColumbia(seeFigure1).However,our

4

traditionalW̱SÁNEĆterritoryextendseastwardfromtheSaanichPeninsulaacrossthenearby

islandstothesoutheasternextentoftheLowerMainland,i.e.,fromsouthernSaltSpringIsland,

northeasttoMayneIsland,acrosstheSalishSeaintotheUnitedStatestoincludePointRoberts

andpartsoftheSanJuan,andsouthofthePeninsulatoincludePḴOLS(MountDouglas)(Elliott

&Poth,1990/1948,p.13;Jim,2016,p.10;Paul,1995).Itiswithintheseboundariesthatour

SENĆOŦENspeakingpeoplehavetraditionallyspokentooneanotherasfirstlanguage(L1)

SENĆOŦENspeakingW̱ŚANEĆpeople.MySILELE[lategrandfather]DavidElliottstatedthat

thehome,headquartersoftheSaanichpeople,istheSaanichPeninsula.WepopulatedtheSaanichPeninsulafromoneendtotheotherandrightaroundalltheshoresandallthebays.SaanichpeoplelivedonmanyofthegulfIslandsandmostoftheSanJuanIslands.(Elliot&Poth,1990/1948,p.13)

U,ĆȺISENOLTŦESENĆOŦENSḰÁLEȻsW̱I,YELḴEN,IST,EȽTŦEŚX̱ENÁṈs.I,ȻȽKÁLSEN

ȻEȻNEsENÁNU,ṮII,TW̱ḰÁL,NESUḰÁL.U,X̱ENÁṈȻE,ĆÁ,TŦU,NIȽ,Ć,ṮIsEṮMEQSÁN.

HELITȻSUNIȽETŦESȻÁ,ȽTESḰÁL[IworktorevitalizeSENĆOŦENandIbelieveittobevery

importantthatIspeak.Therefore,Ispeakasweallneedto,tosaveourlanguage].Iwork

alongsidemySENĆOŦENteacher,myresourceandcurriculumdevelopmentcolleagues,my

co-workersandmyfamilyatourȽÁU,WELṈEW̱TribalSchool,LENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱,W̱SÁNEĆ

LeadershipSecondarySchool,SaanichAdultEducationCentre,theSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN

[SENĆOŦENSpringBoard/languageApprenticeshipProgram],theW̱,SENĆOŦEN,IST[Speaking

SENĆOŦENForward]Program,allofwhicharehousedonthegroundsoftheW̱SÁNEĆSchool

5

BoardinW̱JOȽEȽP(commonlyknownastheTsartlipreserveinWestSaanich,BrentwoodBay).

Figure1:MapshowingSaanichterritory,fromTheCare-Takers,PhilipK.Paul,1995,p.20.

6

Currently,Iteachandworkasaneducationassistant(E.A.)atLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱—or

asmySENĆOŦENcolleagues(andI)refertomyrole:Iprovidelanguagesupportforthe

maintenanceoftheimmersionenvironment,whichalsomeansthatIprovideanadditional

perspectiveandmodelanewanddiverselanguage.Ialsoco-teachintheW̱,SENĆOŦEN,IST

PrograminpartnershipwiththeUniversityofVictoria—withmyNESÁĆSSTOLȻEȽ[Uncle

STOLȻEȽ],andDr.MarionCaldecott(alinguistandinstructorattheUniversityofVictoriaand

SimonFraserUniversity).Additionally,Ihelptodeveloptheresourcesandcurriculumusedin

thisprogram.

NEĆ,LÁ,EI,NEĆELÁṈEN—Myplace,placement,andancestry

ThewordW̱SÁNEĆinformsmyidentity,myconnectiontoplace,aswellasourcollective

indigenousworldviewandepistemology.InSaltwaterPeople,mySILELE[lategrandfather]

DavidElliotsays,“OurwordW̱SÁNEĆinSaanichmeans‘raisedup’(Elliot&Poth,1990/1948,

p.14).Paul(1995)re-iteratesthisdefinitionandaddstoit,relatingthemeaningofthetermto

theW̱SÁNEĆworldviewandidentity:

ThewordWSÁNEĆcanbetranslatedas“raised”or“risingup”;whenusedtodescribetheSaanichpeople,itismoreaccuratelytranslatedas“rising”,thus,“Therisinguppeople.”(Paul,1995,p.3)

WhileW̱SÁNEĆrefersto“rising”(or“emerging”asIhavecometoknowandrefertoit)

people,italsoreferstotherisingland,remindingusofthetimeofthegreatflood—appearing

instoriestoldbyPaul(1995),Jim(2016),ClaxtonandElliott(1993),aswellasbymanyofour

languageteachers,communitymembers,andourlateW̱SÁNEĆelders;itwasalsorecordedby

theSaanichNativeHeritageSociety(2007).Thenameconnectsusdirectlytoourhomelandand

7

tothesacredflood-timewhenwewereatthemercyofnature;itconnectsustoprayer,andto

thenecessitiesthatweregatheredinaccordancetotheprophecythatforetoldoftheflood.

Attheheightoftheflood,ourpeopletiedthemselvesandtheircanoestoanArbutusTreewiththecedarwovenrope atthetopofȽÁU,WEL,ṈEW̱mountain,namedastheplaceofescape,healingandrefuge….Thepeoplesatandprayed….Theywereremindedofourteachingsandourbeliefs.TheyunderstoodthenhowtheymustcarrythemselvesasW̱SÁNEĆpeople(Jim,2016,p.50)

Whenthinkingofourname,W̱SÁNEĆ,wethinkofȽÁU,WELṈEW̱.Additionally,Paul

(1995)remindsusthat,“withthestory,survivesareminderofourrelationtotheanimals…the

plants…theEarth…andtheCreator(orGod)”(p.3).

W̱SÁNEĆisgroundedinourworldview—thatweareakintoallthings,notjusthuman

beings,butanimals,birds,fish,land,andeventheelements,theweather.Thewordremindsus

tocareforoneanother,tocarefortheland,thewaters,andallformsoflife.Iwastoldthat“it

remindsusofourkinshipbythewayitsayswhatitsays,whichisthatthelandisthebackofa

personrising(oremerging)fromthewater,asanewbornbabythatbunchesitselfwithitsback

outward”(STOLȻEȽ,personalconversation,2008).Whileweareremindedofthesethingsby

thenameofourpeople,W̱SÁNEĆ,SENĆOŦENistheW̱SÁNEĆlanguageofourpeople,therising

people.

SYESESȻSUNIȽW̱IYELḴEN,ISTESI,OX̱NESEṈTI,UḴÁYES—AbriefhistoryofSENĆOŦENreturninguntilourcontemporarystate

Inthewinterof1978,mySILELE[lategrandfather]DavidElliottcreatedthealphabetthatwe

usetoday.2TodaythisalphabetistaughttochildrenattheȽÁU,WELṈEW̱TribalSchool’s

2http://wsanecschoolboard.ca/history-of-the-sencoten-language

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ElementaryandMiddleSchools,LENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱(SENĆOŦENimmersionwingsat

ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱),BaysideMiddleSchoolinschooldistrict63,aswellastoadultlearnersatthe

SaanichAdultEducationCentre(SAEC)adulteducationprograms,andtheW̱SENĆOŦEN,IST

ProgramthroughtheUniversityofVictoria.

MySILELEdevelopedthealphabetbecausehedidnotfindtheavailablephonetic

alphabetstobeparticularlyuseful(TheNorthAmericanPhoneticAlphabet(NAPA),andthe

InternationalPhoneticAlphabet(IPA)).Heexpressedhisdistastefortherulesassociatedwith

thesealphabets,suchasthecoupledphonemegroupings,whichhesaidoftenmadeforwords

thatweretoolong.Hesawthesealphabetsasbarrierstoinclusivityandnotasaccessibletools,

therebytakingfromthehandsofourW̱ILṈEW̱EȽTÁLṈEW̱[Indigenoushumanbeings]the

self-determinationthatwasbecomingexceedinglynecessarytoourculturalsurvival.Asour

SENĆOŦENSḰÁLbecameincreasinglyendangered,itbecameclearthattherewasaneedto

simplifyourorthography.OurSENĆOŦENcontemporariestodayhonourthesignificanceofthis

time,notonlybecauseweusethealphabettodayandendorseitsefficiency,butbecausethe

timethatmySILELEspentcreatingourorthographyisviewedasasacredtime:Heworked

tirelessly,dayandnight,untilthealphabetwascomplete—agiftfromthe“visitors”whohad

helpedhimandsaidtohim,“EWESṮEQ,TTŦESONUSE”[Don’tletthefiregoout,there’sonlya

sparkleft].Thetimewasrighttoacttosaveourlanguage.

Oncethealphabetwascreated,mySILELEfelttheneedtoteachotherstouseit,

empoweringthoseofourexistingspeakerswhoremainedandwerewilling.Atthattime,my

TÁN[mother],ȻOSINIYE,expressedinterestinlearningSENĆOŦENusingournew-found

orthographyinresponsetooururgentdesiretorevitalizeourlanguage—shewasthefirstof

9

severalstudents.Shelearnedtheorthographybylisteningtothesoundsofourlanguageand

transcribingthewordsassheheardthem.ThebreakthroughforhercamewhenSILELEasked

mymothertoreadbackhertranscriptionofhiswords.Excited,mygrandfathercalledmyother

SILELEȻŦIÁ[lategrandmother]overtolistentowhatmyTÁNhadjustwritten.WhenSILELE

ȻŦIÁheardmyTÁNreadhertranscriptionshesaid,“Iunderstoodwhatshejustread.”Before

thatmoment,“literacy”wasseenasadeviceofW̱ENITEM[Western]education.Theonlyones

whohadwrittendownourlanguagebeforethistimewerethoselinguistsandanthropologists

whowerestudyingandrecordingwhatwasthenseenasourdyinglanguage.

MySÁĆS[uncle]STOLȻEȽjoinedthecauseshortlyafter.Heexpressedhisdesiretopray

inhisownmothertongue.Duringthistime,manyofourpeople,includingmyfamily,were

involvedinactivistcampaignsandralliestoprotectourrights—itwasatimeofIndigenous

resurgence,andSENĆOŦENseemedtobeemergingrightalongwiththepoliticalmovementsof

theday.Duringthistime,mySILELErecruitedeighteenelderswhoheidentifiedas“L1”(or

firstlanguage)speakersonthebasisoftheirknowledgeofthelanguage.Hehadnotbeenable

toconvinceallthosethathehadhopedwouldjointhisnewly-assembledcohort,butthe

eighteenindividualsprovidedagoodstrongcore—fromwhommyTÁNandmySÁĆSwere

fortunatetolearn.Someoftheelderswhowerepartofthisgroupbecameteachersatour

school(preschooltoGrade9),someofwhomIwasfortunateenoughtolearnfromasachild.

Sampson(2014)referstothemasour“firekeepers,”whichreferstothemessageEWESṮEQ,T

TŦESONUSE[don’tletthefiregoout]thatmySILELEreceived;sheadvisesthat,tokeepthe

fireoflanguagerevitalizationalive

yougatherwhatyouneed;inlanguagerevitalization,itisEȽTÁLṈEW̱(people),SELW̱ÁN(Elders),SQENSTENEḴ(knowledgekeepers),W̱UĆISTENEḴ

10

(languageteachers),SĆÁLEĆE(languageallies,linguists),andnetworkingwithSCUL,ÁUTW̱(institution/organizations).(p.16)

ItwasduringthistimethatmyTÁNandmySÁĆSsimultaneouslylearnedthelanguage

whilebecomingteachers.

Astheyearsrolledby,oureldersretiredandpassedon—untiltherewereonlyfour

teachersofthelanguage.Thismeantthatourlanguagewasbecomingcriticallyendangered;

thenumberofourL1speakerswasdowntoabouttwenty-fiveby2009,andthenumberofour

teacherswasreducedtofour:TELTÁLEMOT,whoworksintheschooldistrict;KÁNTENOT,who

teachesadultsattheSAEC(SaanichAdultEducationCentre);andmyTÁNandSÁĆS,thelast

remainingteachersatourȽÁU,WELṈEW̱TribalSchool’spreschooltomiddleschool.In2005,

eveningclasseswerebeingofferedattheSAEC,ledbymyTÁNandSÁĆSinpartnershipwith

theUniversityofVictoria’sDepartmentofLinguistics.Atthistime,theUniversitywasworking

concurrentlywithsomeofourknowledgeableelderstodocumentandanalyzevariouslinguistic

aspectsofSENĆOŦEN(suchasphonetics,grammar,morphology,andsoon)whichwould

eventuallyassistinfutureresourceandcurriculumdevelopment.Shortlyafterward,the

Universityofferedasummerprogram,ÁLEṈ,ENEȻ[Homeland](Guilar&Swallow,2008;Jim,

2016;Sampson,2014).Theintentionofthisongoingprogramistohelpstudentsdevelopa

relationshiptoplacebywayoflearningtheIndigenousW̱SÁNEĆhistory,uses,andmeanings

associatedwiththatplace.Thisprogramhasremainedavitalcomponentofourvarious

languagecurriculumsandtheirunderlyingphilosophyaswemoveforward.

AsconcerngrewaboutthedecreasingnumbersofourL1speakersandourlanguage

teachers,allofwhomseemedtobeapproachingretirementage,itbecameclearthattherewas

adireneedtofindlanguageteacherstosucceedthosewhohadbeenbearingtheweighton

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theirshouldersforsolong.Thus,inthefallof2009,alanguageapprenticeshipprogramwas

devisedthatwouldfocusstrictlyonteachingapprenticesourlanguageinorderthattheywould

thenbecomelanguageteachers.Thisprogramisstillinplace:theSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN

[SENĆOŦENSpringboard],alsoknownastheSENĆOŦENLanguageApprenticeshipProgram—a

programthatIhavebeenblessedtobeapartof.

AsourSENĆOŦEN-speakingteachersandcommunityreachedthisurgentstatewithout

anycertaintyoflanguagetransmissiontothenextgeneration,SȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENwasa

long-awaitedbreakthrough,onethatgaveushopeforthesurvivalofSENĆOŦEN.Aswelearned

ourlanguagewebecamethearmsandlegsofourteachers,mentors,elders,andessentiallythe

languageitself,doingallthatwecould,allthatwasnecessary.Weconductedsurveysto

achieveconsensusoverwhetherornotwe(theW̱SÁNEĆcommunity)shouldgoaheadwiththe

planninganddevelopmentofanimmersionprogramforchildren,i.e.,tobegina“language

nest”(Hinton,2001,p.119).Thesurveyalsoexploredthequestionofwhethertostarta

BachelorofEducationProgramforSENĆOŦENteachers.Theoutcomewastheestablishmentof

theBachelorofEducationinIndigenousLanguageRevitalization(BEDILR),developedin

partnershipwiththeUniversityofVictoria.We,undertheauspicesoftheSȾÁSENTŦE

SENĆOŦENprogram,alsodevelopedcurriculumandresources,hostedregularmeetingswith

ourelders(whohelpedustranslateandtranscribeaswellastaughtus),andassistedour

teachersintheirclassrooms.SȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENprovidedmewiththeopportunitytotake

partintheMaster-MentorApprenticeshipProgram(MAP)withthesupportoftheFirst

Peoples’CulturalCouncil(FPCC).TheFPCCversionofMAPisbasedonalearningmethodology

developedinCaliforniabyLeanneHintonincollaborationwiththeAdvocatesforIndigenous

12

CaliforniaLanguageSurvival(AICLS),andtheNativeCalifornianNetwork(NCN)(Hinton,2002).

AlongwithmySENĆOŦENcolleaguesandrelativesMENEŦIYEandSIOLTENOT,Iwasvery

fortunateinmymentor,thelateRaySam;heaffordedmemybreakthroughasIgainedthe

confidenceneededforlanguageacquisition,andIwastherebyabletoacquiretheabilityto

speakSENĆOŦENonthebasisofourimmersionget-togethers.Thiswasthecaseforour

SȾÁSENteamaswell—wealldevelopedlanguageproficiencyandenlargedourcapacityto

teachourlanguage.

OncewesurpassedthemereapprenticestagewewerepermittedbytheW̱SÁNEĆ

SchoolBoardandourSENĆOŦENlanguageauthority(seniorteachers)totakeontheroleof

teacher.Theoutcomewasthat,inJanuary,2012,weestablishedourLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱

[languageimmersion/languagesurvivalschool]:TheSENĆOŦENW̱UĆISTENEḴ[language

teachers]whowereonceapprenticesbecametheknowledgekeepers,theSQENESTENEḴ.

Sampson(2014)summarizeditthisway:“Ourmentorswerethechildrenofourpastlanguage

warriors.TheynowheldthetorchandtouchedmanyW̱ŚÁNEĆchildrenintheirprograms”(p.

20).

AlthoughwedidnotallbeginasteachersintheLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱(myself

included),wewerenonethelessapartoftheresurgenceoflanguageuse,therebyincreasingits

capacity,evenifwebeganbysimplyparticipatingintheteachersuccessionprocess.LENOṈET

SCUL,ÁUTW̱thrustusintotheimmersionschoolsetting,beginningwithpreschoolchildren

who,witheachsubsequentyear,proceededtothenextgrade.Ourchildrenhavebeenableto

progressthroughthepreschoolandprimarygrades,andarelearningatthegradethreelevel.

WehopetocontinuethegrowthofSENĆOŦENimmersionforaslongaswecan.

13

WhenIenteredtheimmersionteachingstreaminthefallof2013,wewereopeningour

firstyearofkindergarten,arealitythathighlightedtheneedtofurtherdevelopourcapacities

asteachers,educationassistants,andresourceandcurriculumdevelopers.AsLENOṈET

SCUL,ÁUTW̱venturedahead,growingwitheachhighergradelevel,theneedtoaugmentour

capacitybecameapparent.Althoughwehadsucceededinthecreationofnewspeakerswith

theachievementsofSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN,ourimmersionstreamquicklymadeusrealize

thatweneededsomethingmoreinordertokeeppacewiththegrowth.Thispromptedusto

changeourpolicywithrespecttotherequirementsofestablishingandmaintainingLENOṈET

SCUL,ÁUTW̱.Weoncebelievedthattheonlynecessityforcreatinganimmersionenvironment

washavingproficientspeakers,butthesenseofurgencythatcamewithgrowthpromptedus

tolookatthepotentialofusingtheenvironmentasalanguagetrainingground.

Andsobegantherecruitmentofnewapprenticestobuildourcapacity,apprenticeswho

weretolearnthelanguagewhilehelpingusmaintainourlanguageenvironmentatthesame

time.Theywouldbeamongthefirst,solongastheywerewillingtorefrainfromusingEnglish,

whileinsteadspeakingtheSENĆOŦENthattheywerelearning.Wefunctionedasalearning

collective—workingtoreviveourlanguage,engaginginresearch,andcollectivelytryingour

handsatbringingourlanguagebackfromitsstateofsuspendedanimation.Insodoing,we

foundthatusingourimmersionenvironmentprovidedsignificantinsightintowhatitmeansto

revitalizeourSENĆOŦENlanguage.Thisprocesshighlightedaprinciplethatweimplicitly

understoodbutonethatwenonethelessperceivedanew:EWENEW̱ENITEM,ḴENI,ĆOȻESOL

CENsTOLNEW̱[NoEnglish—justusewhatyouknowoftheSENĆOŦENlanguage].

14

Duringthisperiod,we—theSENĆOŦENlanguagerevivalists(SȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN

ProgramandourLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱)—hadthebenefitofarelationshipwiththeUniversity

ofVictoria’sIndigenousEducationandLinguisticsdepartments.Thisallowedustoincreaseour

capacitytopromoteadultSENĆOŦENlearninginourhomecommunity.Eventhoughthe

eventualmakeupoftheLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱provedtousthatwe,thelearningteachers,can

learnSENĆOŦENbysimplyallowingourselvestoparticipateinanimmersionenvironment

(shoulditbeprovided),thefactremainsthat,inordertobuildofourcapacityasteachers,we

requirethebenefitofpost-secondaryacademicinsightsandcredentials.

Theoutcomewasthat,inJanuary2010,theUniversityofVictoriaBachelorofEducation

inIndigenousLanguageRevitalization(BEDILR)wasofferedforthefirsttimeinW̱SÁNEĆ.This

programgaveustothemeanstotrainandcertifyteacherswhocouldalsospeakSENĆOŦEN.

Someoftheteachersfromthisfirstcohorthavemovedontoteachwithinthedistrict,while

othershavejoinedourteamandtherebyincreasedourcapacitytoprovideteachersand

assistants.Subsequently,anewdiplomaprogramhasbeendevelopedinpartnershipwithUVic,

designedtofollowthecompletionofaBEDLIR:W̱SENĆOŦEN,IST[CarryingSENĆOŦENlanguage

forwardbythebreath],aswellasthevaryprogramthatSX̱EDŦELISIYE(Sampson,2014),

Jacqueline(Jim,2016)andNENSIMU(RitaMorris)haveenteredtoobtainourmastersdegrees

intheMastersofIndigenousLanguageRevitalization(MILR)Program,whichfirstbeganinthe

summerof2012.Atthetimeofwriting,thefirstcohortoftheW̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTProgramisinits

secondtermofitssecondyearandisnearingcompletion,and,mytwoSȾÁSENTŦE

SENĆOŦEN/LENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱colleagues,JacquelineandSX̱EDŦELISIYEarehave

successfullydefendedtheirMILRSĆȺ(work).

15

Iacknowledgethatthissummaryisalltoobrief,giventhehistoryofourSENĆOŦEN

SḰÁL’sresurgence.IagreewithLornaWilliamswho,onanumberofoccasions,talkedwithme

abouttheneedtoprovideamorecompletehistoricaloverviewofoureffortstoreviveour

language.Ideally,suchaworkwouldexplainmorefullytheimportanceoflanguageresurgence

inthecontextofIndigenouslanguagerevitalization,andrelatethisphenomenontotheway

thatFishman(1991)speaksaboutlanguagemaintenanceand“reversinglanguageshift.Allthat

Ihaveaddressedinthispaperrelatestomyownexperienceasalearnerandspeaker.Irelate

ourSYESES[history]tomyroleasbothalearnerandaspeakerbecauseIhavealwaysbeen

closetothecollectiveefforttoreviveSENĆOŦEN.MyTÁNwasinvolvedwiththerevivalof

SENĆOŦENbeforeIwasborn;Ihavealwaysbeenexposedtothisaspirationtorevitalizeour

language,andIattributesomeofmymotivationto“TW̱ESENĆOŦENḰO,ḰEL”[cometospeak

SENĆOŦEN]tomyhomesetting.

NELELÁ,NEṈTEN—Myaudience(mywitnesses,mylisteners)

Iwouldliketoaddressthequestionofaudienceforthisproject.WhoisitthatIamspeaking

with?

First,Ispeaktothosewhoareengagedinthesamestrugglewithanendangered

languageandtheprospectoflanguageloss:thosewhowanttorevivetheirmothertongue,and

theheritageitcontains;thosewhoarecommittedtoprotectingIndigenouslanguages.The

subjectoflanguagerevitalizationhasgainedsignificantattentionsinceIbeganasalanguage

apprenticein2009.OurgrowthintheSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalizationefforthasbeenguided

bysuchnotablescholarsandlanguageactivistsasLeanneHinton,StephenGreymorning,Kathy

Michel,KauanoeKamana,JoshuaFishman,WilliamWilsonandLornaWilliams.Additionally,

16

thereareanumberoforganizationsdedicatedtoindigenouslanguagerevitalizationincluding

theChiefAtahmSchool,theFirstPeoples’CulturalCouncil,andtheHawaiianlanguage-medium

programs3andimmersionschools.MycolleaguesandI,thoseofuswhoworkonSENĆOŦEN

andteachatLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱andSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN,nowrefertoourhaving

graduatedfromlanguage“apprentice”tolanguage“revivalist.”Weidentifyourselvesas

languagerevivalists;inourstruggle,weareakintoIndigenouspeoplesfromaroundtheworld

whoarelanguagerevivalists,whodowhatisnecessaryandwithintheirpowertorevivetheir

endangeredlanguage.

Second,Ispeaktothoseengagedwithacademicspecialtiesfocusedonlanguage

revitalization,forexampleareasoflinguisticsconcernedwithlanguageacquisition,

sociolinguistics,socioculturaltheory,aswellasIndigenousscholarshipconcernedwithlanguage

resurgence;andIspeaktothelanguageactivists,thescholarsnotedabove.

Third,Ispeaktomydaughter,whoIhopewillcontinueourlegacyofSENĆOŦEN

revitalization—whatFishman(1991)identifiesas“intergenerationallanguagetransmission”(p.

1).Ispeaktoherinthehopesthatmyeffortsarenotinvain.Ihopethatshewillwantto

continuewithSENĆOŦENrevitalization—andthatthispapermightonedayhelpherfindthe

motivationforcarryingon,andgiveheranunderstandingofhowimportantoureffortsto

revitalizeSENĆOŦENare.

3ThePūnanaLeolanguagenests,Kaiapuni-HawaiianlanguageimmersionschoolsandKaHakaʻUlaOKeʻelikōlaniCollegeofHawaiianLanguageProgramsdescribetheirdeliveryofHawaiianlanguageimmersionasinstructionthatisprovidedthroughHawaiianlanguagemedium(Hale&Hinton(2001).

17

NES,ḰÁLEḴEN—MyVoice

Thevoiceandlanguagechoiceforthisprojectis,forthemostpart,myspeakingvoice.Ithinkof

myaudienceasthosewhoareinterestedandengagedinthediscourseofsuccessfullanguage

acquisitionandwhoarelearningwithme.Iamupholdingmyendoftheconversationby

sharingmystory,whatIhavedone,howIhavelearned,andwhoIhavelearnedwith.I

maintainaconversationaltonethroughout,inpartbecausethisisaveryintimatesubject.

SometimesIusetheterms“we,”“our,”and“ours”becauseItendtospeakinclusivelyofNE

LELÁNEṈ,TENinthispaper.Iliketothinkof“we”asacharacteristicofrelationalityinmystory.

Ialsousetheterm“we”whenspeakingofandtomycolleaguesofSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN,

LENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱,mylanguageteachersandmentors,andtotheW̱SÁNEĆpeople.Weare

apartofthemovementtorevitalizeand“reversethelanguageshift”ofSENĆOŦENmuchinthe

waythatFishman(1991)describes.Hence,wearelanguageactivists,butwehavealsobecome

Indigenousresearchersinthewaythatnumerousscholarstalkabout(Guilar&Swallow,2008;

Elliott&Poth,1990/1948;Jim,2016;Sampson,2014;Swallow,2005).Ispeakinclusively

becauseIcannotclaimthatmyachievementsareexclusivelymyown.Therefore,Ifeeltheneed

toacknowledgethecommunitythatnurturedmyeventualSENĆOŦENacquisition.

TheoreticalFramework–PENÁĆTŦENESNÁ(MynameisPENÁĆ)

Thetheoreticalframeworkforthisprojectisembeddedinmynamesake,PENÁĆ.AsIinvokemy

name,IsignifythatmySENĆOŦENlearningandspeakingexperiencesarearesultof“optimal”

(idealandmostfavourable)conditions.Iusethemetaphoroftravellingonthewaterbycanoe

asaframeworktodescribetheoptimalconditionsofmySENĆOŦENlearning,acquisition,and

speakingaswellasaframeworkforrecountingmystory.Asawayofsettingoutthetermsof

18

myoptimalconditionsforlearning,acquiring,andspeakingmylanguage,Iwillrefertothe

followinglanguageacquisitionandrevitalizationtheoryandpracticeintermsofthe

experiencesthatIrecountandreflectoninmystory.

Krashen(1982)distinguishesbetweenacquisitionandlearning,theoptimaluseof

monitor4therein,andprovidesadistinctionbetweenformalandinformallinguistic

environments,processeswhichhaveenabledthe“linguisticinputnecessaryfor[my]language

acquisitiontooccur”(p.40).Additionally,asIreflectonmyexperiences,Iamdoingsowith

considerationforanumberofsocioculturalpractices.Forexample,Swain,Kinnearand

Steinman(2011)discussthe“ZoneofProximalDevelopment”(ZPD)whichreferstoone’sskill

orproficiencylevelsaswellasone’sinterpersonalandintrapersonalinteractionswhilelearning

(p.20);theyalsoidentifytheideaofa“communityofpractice”(COP)(p.27),which,likethe

aboveformalandinformallinguisticenvironments,referstothegradualanddeepeningprocess

ofparticipationinacommunityofpractice,i.e.,one’sacquisitionandlearningenvironment(p.

27).Theyalsoidentifythenotionof“scaffolding,”whichreferstothesocialorcognitive

progressionfromonelevelofunderstandingtothenext(p.26).Swainetal.(2011)alsorefer

topracticesof“privatespeech”(p.36)or“self-talk”(p.62)withrespecttointrapersonal

communicationthatmediates(one’s)thinkingprocess,i.e.,subvocal,inner,orexternal

dialoguetoassistoneselftoregulatethinkingoraction.Theyendorsethepracticeof“self-

regulation,”thatistheuseoflanguagetoregulatetheself,suchasthinkingoutloud,or

mediatingone’sactionsbytalkingoneselfthroughascenario(e.g.,“whereismyfavoriteball?”,

4InrelationtoKrashen’sMonitorTheory(1981,1982),optimaluseofmonitorreferstoone’sbalancingofconsciouslanguagelearning(input),whileproducingspeech(output)andallowingforthesubconsciousprocessoflanguageacquisition.

19

p.38);theyalsohighlightanotherformofregulationwhichreferstoone’sregulationwhen

beingguidedbyanother,forexample,thatwaythatonecanbedirectedtoactionthrough

“totalphysicalresponse”(TPR)(Hinton,2002).

RelatedtoKrashen’s(1982)“communityofpractice”ishisconceptof“integrative

motivation”whichhedefinesas“thedesiretobelikevaluedmembersofthecommunitythat

speakthesecondlanguage”(p.22).Ihavealwaysfoundthistobethecasewithmyelderswho

aremoreproficient,aswellaswithotherswhospeakSENĆOŦEN.

Finally,IalsosharesomeofmyexperiencesthatrelatetoFishman’s(1991)conceptsas

theyconcernaffect,or“affectiveintimacy”,whichrelatestothelanguageofintimacyofone’s

affective“family-neighborhood-communityidentity-and-societybindingexperience”(p.374).

MyexperiencesechotheemphasisRosborough(2012)placesontheimportanceof

encouragement,andtheemphasisthatMcIvor(2012)placesonthevalueofemotionalstates

andmotivation.

Theabove-notedreferencestothetheoryandpracticeoflanguageacquisitionrelateto

myoptimallearningconditions,andwhatnowfollowsisthestoryofhowIhavecometo

furtherunderstandthemeaningofthenamethatIhaveinherited,PENÁĆ,mymetaphorical

frameworkforthisproject.

TOW̱OLU,SṮO,ṮEMTŦESȻÁĆELȻsYÁ—Theweatherisgoodenough(justright)togo).ĆÁȽȻNEsTW̱ETELŦINEṮPENÁĆ—IjustcametounderstandthemeaningofPENÁĆ

SÁĆSSTOLȻEȽandIweretravelingtoKelownatogetherfromVictoriaInternationalairportthis

pastwinter(2017).Wehadagoodvisitalongtheway,laughing,joking,andtellingstories.

Whenwetookourseatsontheairplanewetalkedabouttheweather,whichisnotsmalltalkin

20

W̱SÁNEĆ.WetalkedaboutthewindsasweknowtheminW̱SÁNEĆ,andthatthewindswere

easythatday,nothingturbulent.Weweregladthatwedidnothaveturbulentweatherfor

travelling.ThenSÁĆSSTOLȻEȽsaidsomethingthatclearedupmyunderstandingofawordthat

alsohappenstobethenamethatIcarryfrommylategrandfather:PENÁĆ.

AgreatthingaboutourtripwasthatwehadspokentoeachotherinSENĆOŦENalmost

theentiretime.Aswetalkedaboutthewindsandtheweatherconditionsbeingoptimalthat

day,IsaidtoSÁĆS,“TOW̱OLU,SṮO,ṮEMTŦESȻÁĆELEȻsȻELEṈȽTEYÁ[theweatherisjust

rightforustofly],”towhichheagreed,saying,“HÁÁ,.NIȽPENÁĆ[Yesitis.It’safairwind,a

goodwindtotravelon]”.UpuntilthatpointintimeIhadonlyunderstoodPENÁĆtosimply

mean“fairwind,”accordingtomySILELE(Elliott,1990).MyTÁNandSÁĆShadalways

expressedthewordinthesamewordsasSILELE,andso,Ihadonlyusedthewordtomeanfair

wind,eventhoughIwasawarethatithadsomethingtodowithtravellingbysail(ortravelling

ingeneralforthatmatter).ThepointhereisthatIdidnothaveacompleteunderstandingof

theword,myname.

Ihadheardthestoryafewtimes—whymySILELEassumedthename—andthathe

chosethenamehimselfinsteadofreceivingthenameofoneofourancestors,asiscustomin

CoastandStraitSalishterritories,andinW̱SÁNEĆ.AlthoughIheardthestoryonafewdifferent

occasions,Ihadnotunderstooditstruemeaning.Iwasmissingsomething.However,Iwastold

thathechosethenamePENÁĆinmemoryofonethefondestmomentsofhislife.Herecalled

theoccasionwhen,asayoungchildtravellingbycanoewithhisTÁN(myJOMEḰLE[lategreat

grandmother)andNESÁĆSNEJOMEḰLE[lategreatgrandaunty],theyweretravellingtoour

21

villagesiteontheislandofSTOLȻEȽ5(SanJuanIsland).Astheymadethecrossingfromthe

W̱SÁNEĆPeninsulatoSTOLȻEȽ,itwasnight,theskywasclear,thewaterswerecalm,andit

wasquiet.Itwaspeaceful.Speakingaloudisminimalwhenwetravelbywater—acustomof

W̱SÁNEĆpeoplestoshowrespectfortheoceanandthelifeinit.MySILELEsaidtomyJOMEḰ

LEthathewastiredandwantedtosleep.Shetoldhimtogoaheadandliedown,gesturingto

thefrontofthecanoewheretherewasabundleofblanketsthathadbeenheatedwithhot

stones.MySILELElaydownontheblankets,lookeduptowardtheclearskyfullofstars,and

heardonlythesoundofthepaddlesinthecalmwatersuntilhedriftedofftosleep.

AsItalkedwithSTOLȻEȽIfinallyunderstood.MyminddashedbacktothisstoryandI

realizedwhatitwasthatmySILELEwasreferringto:therememberedpeaceandserenity

associatedwiththoseoptimaltravelconditions,thesoundofthepaddlesonthecalmwater,

theclearandluminousskyfilledwithstars,andthecompanyofhislovedones.Asthemeaning

becamecleartomeIfeltreassuredaboutmyimprovedunderstandingofthenamePENÁĆ.I

feltreassured,notonlyforhavingaclearerunderstanding,butthatmynamereflectsmy

path—whoIam,whereIcomefrom—andperhapsIammostreassuredinrelationtothiswork,

thatitreflectsmyjourneyoflearningSENĆOŦEN.Myjourneytolearnandspeakmylanguage

hasnotbeentheeasiestone,butitisajourneywhereoptimalconditionshaveenabledmeto

learnandspeakSENĆOŦEN.

SHOIsNESX̱IÁMNESLÁ,LESETTIÁ—Themotifsofmystorythatinformthiswork

ReflectingonthestoryofhowIcametobetterunderstandmynamesake,andhowPENÁĆ

representstherelevanceofoptimalconditionsfortravel(notablybySNEW̱EȽonthewaterin5ThenameSTOLȻEȽwasgiventomyuncletoremindusofourhomevillageontheisland.

22

thiscase),mySENĆOŦENlearningjourneyisreflectedinPENÁĆasametaphorforideal

paddlingconditions.AsmyconversationwithSTOLȻEȽremindedme,talkaboutweatherisnot

smalltalkinW̱SÁNEĆ—itoftenhastodowithwhetheritissafeorunsafetotravel.Todiscuss

theweatherisawayofgaugingtheconditionsfortravelling,anddeterminingwhetherthey

are,infact,optimal.

Therefore,toreiteratethesequenceofchapterssetoutinmyintroduction,the

followingisthewaythatthePENÁĆmetaphorframesthispaper.Chapter1,QENÁNW̱ȽTE,

forecaststhescopeandsequenceofthispaper—whereIintroduceandlocatemyself,my

audienceandtheoreticalframework,andwhereIidentifymymethodology,myvoice,and

providesomebackgroundbywayof“briefhistoryofSENĆOŦENreturning.”Chapter2,

EȽTELIĆ,EṈȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽ,looksatmybeginningsasaSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENlanguage

apprentice,specificallywithregardtomylearningexperienceswithmylateeldersŦḴOȽEĆTEN

[IvanMorris]andW̱IJELEḴ[RaySam’atour“elders’sessions,”andlearningthroughMAP.The

focusofthischapterisSNEPENEḴ[culturalteachingsandvalues],andĆELÁṈEN[ancestry

(culture,heritage,birthright)].Chapter3,HI,ḴETȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽSUYÁ,DÁȻEL,isconcerned

withthemethodsIhaveemployed—whetherestablishedmethods,ormethodsofmyown

construction—toeffectivelyprovidemewithoptimalSENĆOŦENlearningandacquisition.This

chapteralsoidentifiesguidingprinciplesandvaluesthathavefurtherenabledmoreeffective

learningandlanguageacquisition;theseprinciplesfavourtheintimateandrelationalaspectsof

learning,suchasfamily,friendship,andhome.Chapter4,JÁṈ,NOṈET ȽTE,providesthe

conclusionandrecommendationsthathaveemergedformeinthecourseofthisexploration.

23

AsItellmystoryofhowIhavecometospeakSENĆOŦEN,myframeworkisareminder

thatthe“coastwasclear”enoughformetolearnSENĆOŦEN.Thisalsoremindsmeofthe

worldviewcontextofourmostcommongreeting,ÍYSȻÁĆEL[Goodday].AsourSENĆOŦEN

languagerevealsitsmeaningsonitsownterms,theW̱SÁNEĆworldviewemerges.Whenwe

greetsomeonewithÍYSȻÁĆEL,thecontextrevealsaconsiderationforothers—bystatingthat

theactualconditionsoftheday,theweather,aregood.AsElliotandPoth(1990/1948)noted,

ourW̱SÁNEĆpeoplewerealsoknownasSaltwaterPeople:ṮȽÁȽSEḰO,W̱ILṈEW̱.Wetraveled

byseaonaregularbasis,andsoneededtohaveagoodsenseofwhatoptimalweather

conditionsmean.

U,X̱ENÁṈOLTŦU,NIȽPENÁĆEȻsŚX̱ENÁṈsȻNEsI,TOTELNEW̱EṮSENĆOŦEN[Theways

inwhichIhavelearnedSENĆOŦENhavebeenunderoptimalconditions],justasNESȻÁ,NE

SNÁ[myname]PENÁĆindicates.

ŚW̱,XEĆS,ILEṈ—Methodology

Asalreadynoted,thispaperdescribesanauto-ethnographicreflectionthatfocusesonmy

experiencesasImovedfromlearningmylanguagetospeakingit,andfromapprenticingto

mentoring.Iwillrecountmyexperiencesbywayofanauto-ethnographicreflectivenarrative,

whichrelatetothecentralquestion:S,X̱ENI,EṈYEW̱ȻNEsTW̱ESENĆOŦEN[WhyisthatIhave

cometospeakSENĆOŦEN]?MystorywillrecountmyfindingsintermsofwhatIdid:when,

where,why,andhowIlearned,i.e.,howIhavecometospeakSENĆOŦEN.

Iwillnowelaborateonauto-ethnographyasamethodologythatcanbeusedin

conjunctionwithIndigenousmethods.Ethnographyisthestudyofpeopleandcultures,and

autopertainstotheself.AccordingtoOnowaMcIvor’s(2010)openingtoherarticle“IAmMy

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Subject,”auto-ethnographyis“astudyinvolvingtheself”(p.137).Thisauto-ethnographicwork

issituatedintheemergingscholarlyendeavorsofIndigenousacademicswhoarebuildingon

theever-growingdiscoursethatconcernstopicssuchasIndigenousepistemologies,ontologies,

andresearchmethodologies.Thisdiscoursevalidatesperspectivesthatarenon-western,orare

unconventionalinrelationtothestatusquo.McIvor(2010)referstoShawnWilson(2007)who

setsoutthe“keyfeatures”ofanIndigenistresearchparadigm,reiteratingthat“goodIndigenist

research[is]aswhenweareconnectedtoallthatsurroundsus,suchasfamily,ancestors,the

land,andthecosmos”(McIvor,2010,p.139).

Indigenousprinciplesalsoincluderespect,considering“alllifeforms,”remembering

kindnessandhonestyandhowwhatisdonemaybringbenefittothecommunityatlarge

(McIvor,2010,p.139).InW̱SÁNEĆ,itseemsasthoughwehaveprotocolsforeverything.When

itcomestotradition,wearemindfulandrespectful,considerateofcommunity,andallthe

variouslifeforms.Thereisasystemandanordertothewayinwhichweapproachmatters,

whichregularlytaketheformofceremony:SNEPENEḴ[protocols/teachings].Preparation,asa

partofthe“ceremonyofresearch”(Wilson,2008)iscrucial,as“tobeagoodresearcher,Imust

firstbeagoodperson”(McIvor,p.140).

InW̱SÁNEĆ,engaginginceremonyoftenmeansthatwefirstDIWIEȽ[pray];weopenup

ourworkwithS,DIWIEȽ[aprayer/theprayer],clearingourselvesoftheblocksorbarriersin

ourpathandsettingourattentiontothemattersathand:SULÁ,SETȽTEȻE[soweprepare

ourselves].Toanagnosticthiscanberegardedsimplyashoningone’sfocus,butinaccordance

withourspiritualpractices,itisacallingtoourancestorsordeitiestohelp,guide,andprotect

us.

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Thesignificanceofstoryforthisprojectisthatitencompasses,holistically,theparadigm

ofanIndigenousresearchmethodwhichWilson(2008)describesas“thestorytellerasthe

researcher.”Thisapproachencompassesimportantaspectsoforaltraditioninasmuchasit

incorporatestheexperiential,theintimateconnection,andtherelationality.Wilsonexplains

that“relationalityrequiresthatyouknowalotmoreaboutmebeforeyoucanbeginto

understandmywork”(p.12).

Smith(2012)andChilisa(2012)raiseanumberofpointsthatareimportantto

consider—asanIndigenousresearcherandasanactivist—pointswhichIoftenfindmyself

concernedaboutasaW̱ILṈEW̱EȽTÁLṈEW̱[Indigenoushumanbeing]workinginanacademic

setting.Smith(2012)raisestheconcerns,onesthatcanbeputforwardfromcommunity

membersandactivistsalike:“Whoseresearchisit?Whoseinterestsdoesitserve?Whowill

benefitfromit?”(p.10).SmithalsodiscussesthedifferentrolesplayedbyIndigenous

researchersandactivists,notingthatwhiletheyaredifferent,bothareimportantforpreserving

theintegrityandtheinterestsofIndigenouscommunities.AlthoughIndigenousresearchers

andactivistsoftensharethesameinterests,theirgoalscanbemisalignedgiventhatactivists

areconcernedwithgrassrootsorcommunity-basedinitiatives,whileIndigenousresearchers

tendtoconcernthemselveswithdecolonizingWesternresearchnarrativesandthewaythese

narrativesframeIndigenousepistemologies.

Chilisa(2012)addressestheconceptofdeficittheory,whichseesWestern-based

researchmethodsashavingdevelopedabodyofliteraturethatdisseminatestheorieswhich

threatento“perpetuateresearchthatconstructstheresearchedcolonizedOtherasthe

problem”(p.59).Ithinkthatitisnecessarytostate—withthesetwopointsinmind—thatnot

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onlyismyintegrityimportanthere,butalsotheintegrityofmycommunityandancestors.Iwill

emphasizehere,speakingtotheemergingdiscourseaboutIndigenousresearchmethodologies

andIndigenousepistemologies,thatourW̱ILṈEW̱EȽTÁLṈEW̱—ourwaysofknowing—arevalid

andimportant.

Ihavebeenalanguageactivistwhohasenteredtherealmofresearcher,whichcouldbe

seenascompromisingmyIndigenoussocioculturalidentityshouldIhappentoneglectsuch

principlesasgoodIndigenistresearch.Thus,myintentionforthisprojectisthatitbeofbenefit

tomyW̱SÁNEĆcommunity—SȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN,LENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱,andNE

LELÁNEṈ,TEN—thelanguagerevivalistswhoarelookingforadditionalcontributionstotheir

efforts.IhavetheutmostrespectandadmirationforallthoseIhaveworkedwithinthecourse

ofthisproject,andso,Ihonourthem.

RelationshipsarefiercelyimportantinW̱SÁNEĆ.Theyareimportanttoourfamilies,

bothourimmediatefamiliesandourextendedfamilies,toourancestors,andtoourW̱SÁNEĆ

name.Relationshipsreinforcetheconceptthatweareakintoallthings,alllifeforms.MySILE

LE,inspeakingaboutourworldviewsaid,“ourpeoplelivedaspartofeverything.Wewereso

muchapartofnature,wewerejustlikethebirds,theanimals,thefish.Wewerelikethe

mountains….Weknewtherewasanintelligence,astrength,apower,farbeyondourselves

(Elliott&Poth,1990/1948,p.75).

W̱SÁNEĆepistemologyindicatesthatweconsiderourlifeandouractionsholistically.

TyeSwallow(2005)spokewitheldersofourW̱SÁNEĆcommunity,emphasizingtheimportance

of“knowledgeassociatedwithland”intermsofW̱ŚANEĆ“knowledgeofthemostworth,”

27

becausethisknowledgeisinterrelatedandmutuallydependent(p.55).Heidentifiedthe

themesthatemergefromtheassociatedknowledgeinthisway:

Eldersascarriersofknowledge,SENĆOŦENlanguageandplace-names,W̱SÁNEĆhistory,teachings,ceremony,values,stories,senseofbelongingandidentityareallgroundedin,andhaveco-evolvedfromplace,theplaceofW̱SÁNEĆ.(p.55)

Ihavealwayslovedagoodstory,evenbeforeIrealizedthesignificanceofstorytellingin

W̱SÁNEĆtraditionalculture.Aswithmovies,Ienjoythingslikegoodplottwists,character

development,meaningandrationale,andattimes,romanticizednotionswhichelaborate,

glamourizeormakemattersgrandiose.However,Ihavecometorealizethatthebeststories,

likegoodart,aretheonesthatprovokethought.Instantgratification,whenitispurely

superficial,leaveslittleimpressiononus(unlessitisotherwiseaestheticallyappealing).In

recenttimesIhavecometonoticethewayinwhichtraditionalstorytellinginW̱SÁNEĆstands

outformeamongotherwaysofstorytelling.Wilson(2008)shedssomelightonthis:

IndigenouspeopleinCanadarecognizethatitisimportantforstorytellerstoimparttheirownlifeandexperienceintothetelling.Theyalsorecognizethatlistenerswillfilterthestorybeingtoldthroughtheirownexperienceandthusadapttheinformationtomakeitrelevantandspecifictotheirlife.(p.32)

Storytellingcanbelessaboutthestoryandmoreabouttherelationshipofthestoryto

subjectmatter,andhowstoryfindsitswayintoconversation,therebymakingthestory

relevanttoaconversationoranexperience.Thepointofthestorycanbetomakethelistener

think,togivethestoryfurtherconsideration.Themeaningofthestorymayrelatetoan

individual’sexperience,orsimplytotheconversationthatwastakingplacewhenthestory

cametomind.

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Asmystorytakesplacehere,Ifindthat,inaimingfora“highermentalprocess”inorder

tosolveacognitivelycomplexproblem—aprocessthattakesplace,accordingtoSwainetal.

(2011)in“theexternalworldofsocialinteractionbetweenindividuals[oroneself]”(p.37)—it

hasbeenimportanttofindanoptimalbalanceoflearningwhileremainingtruetotraditional

W̱SÁNEĆteachingsandculture.Krashen(1981)describesthis,specifictolanguageacquisition,

i.e.,myengagementwithSENĆOŦEN,asabalancebetweenacquisition(languageinput)and

speaking(languageoutput)(p.4).

29

Chapter2:EȽTELIĆ,EṈȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽ—WeareloadingupthecanoeNIȽTŦESNEPENEḴȻNEsOȽ,TW̱NESNEW̱EȽ.TUEÍYTŦESȻÁĆEL(Itisthe

teachingsthatIamloadingonmycanoe.Thedayisstillgood)

NESĆȺLEȻENTOLŦḴOȽEĆTENI,W̱IJELEḴI,ȻSESNEPENEḴs—WorkingwithŦḴOȽEĆTENandW̱IJELEḴ,andanoutlineofsomeoftheirprinciplesandpeachings

Aslearningapprenticesofthelanguage,we(SȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN)hadthegoodfortuneof

learningandworkingwithseveralofourelders.Inconsiderationofthem,Iwillfocusontwoof

ourlateelderswhohadthegreatestimpactonmylanguagedevelopment:W̱IJELEḴ[RaySam]

andŦḴOȽEĆTEN[IvanMorris].Wehadmanydiscussionsaboutculturalteachings,practices,

and,mostofall,SENĆOŦEN.BeforeourentryintotheMentor-ApprenticeshipProgram(MAP),

ourSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENlanguageapprenticeshiplearningconsistedofeveningclassesand

sessionswithourelders.Althoughwedidnotachievethesameleveloflanguageproficiencyin

thesesessionswithouteldersaswelaterdidintheMAPsetting,thelastingimpactofourelder

sessionsremainsafoundationforsomuchthatwe—theSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENand

SENĆOŦENrevivalists—dotothisday.Amongotherthings,oureldersemphasized,byexample

andadvice,theimportanceofagoodworkethic,punctuality,gratitude,humility,respect,and

kindness.Myfriend,relative,andcolleagueReneeSampson(2014)recallsthattheseelders

encouragedusto“justspeak,”and“nottogiveup;”shecitesoneofourlateelders,Theresa

Smith,ashavingsaid,“ĆOȻESȻENsTOLṈEW̱![usewhatyouknow]”(p.43).Encouragedby

this,weadoptedthisstatementasourmotto.

Priorto,andduringthetimethatwespentlearningthroughMAP,wewouldmeetwith

ourelderseveryWednesdayfrom9:00a.m.until3:00p.m.until.Atsomepoint,theselong

daysbecametoostrenuous,promptingustofinishby12:00p.m.instead.Theapprentices

30

wouldmaketeaandcoffeeandprovidelunchandsnacksthroughouttheday.Wewouldhave

anagendabeforeus,whichtypicallyconsistedofreviewingwordlists,collectingwordsfor

resourceandcurriculumdevelopment,anddiscussingculturalpracticesandteachings.This

allowedustheopportunityofhearingourL1eldersengageinSENĆOŦENconversationwith

eachotherwhilehelping—inourview—ourlanguagecontinue.AlthoughIoftendidnot

understandtheirconversations,Itooknoticeoftheintonationsandrhythms.Ultimately,Istill

thinkoftheseintonationsandrhythmstoday,andIrefertothismemoryifIhappentodeviate

fromthesoundofSENĆOŦEN:it’slikeasoundcheck,ortuningapianoorguitar.AsIthinkback

now,IbelievethatsometimeswhenItalkedtosomeofoureldersinSENĆOŦENtheydidnot

understandme(orIdidnotunderstandthem)becauseIdidnotrecognizetheirintonation

patternsandrhythms;thesoundsdidnotcomereadilytomypalette,ortheydidnotrecognize

thesoundsImade.Icontinuetodevelop,orcompose,ifyouwill,thesongofthelanguagethat

oureldershavespokenofsoadoringly.Whatfollowsaresomeofthestories,experiencesand

lessonsthatourlateelderssharedwithus.

HÁ,EQȻSUNIȽELÁ,NEW̱sEȻSESELEL,W̱ÁN—RememberingthesoundofthelanguagewithŦḴOȽEĆTEN’selders

Fromtimetotime,likemanyofourelders,ŦḴOȽEĆTEN[IvanMorris]wouldsharestoriesfrom

hischildhood.Onmorethanoneoccasionherecalledsittingatthebeachamonghiselders.

Theywouldsitaroundafiretalking,joking,andtellingstories.ŦḴOȽEĆTENwouldsay,

Itwassonicetoheartheminthewaythattheyspoke.SuchclearSENĆOŦEN.Theywouldallsitaroundthefireanddrinkteaandsmokecigaretteswhichtheywouldrollfromatobaccotinthatsatinthemiddleofthem.Theylaughedsohard.Andthestoriesthattheytold,suchgreatstories.Itreallyfeltgoodtobesittingtherewithmyeldersandtohavesuch

31

ÍYŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN[goodfeelings].IwouldhearthemlaughingandjokingfromafarandIwouldbedrawntothesoundofthemspeakingsuchbeautifulSENĆOŦEN.

ItwasamemorythathespokeofsofondlythatIwouldimagineeverythingvividlyashe

recalledsomeofthoseelders;theyincludedmyJOMEḰ[greatgrandfather],IsaacBartleman,

TommyPaul,PeterHenryandhisfatherGusMorris,amongothers.WhenIthinkofwhatIhope

forSENĆOŦEN,itisthatwereturnourlanguagetothesekindsofsettings,whereSENĆOŦEN

canbeheardfromnearandfar,andwherewecanbeineachother’scompany

(ÍYŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN).

HÁ,EQȻSUNIȽÍYŚX̱ENÁṈs—Rememberingagoodway

AnothermemorythatŦḴOȽEĆTENsharedwithusthatmademefeelproudfollowshere:

Irememberbeingdownatthebeachonceasachildandseeingayoungmancomeashoreonhiscanoe.YoucouldseethathiscanoewasfilledwithṈENS,ḴEĆE[alotofcatches],justabunchofsalmon.Afterhedraggedhiscanoeashoreheturnedaroundandwentforaswim.Whileheswam,ourelderssittingonthebeachwentandhelpedthemselvestowhattheyneededfromhiscanoe,onebyone,eachofthemtakingsalmon.Aftertheyhadalltakensomesalmontheyoungmanreturnedtotheshore,gotonhiscanoeandpaddledaway.IaskedMotherwhothatwasandshesaiditwasDavidElliott.IalwaysrememberedthattobeagoodW̱SÁNEĆway.

QEN,SOTSW̱ENŚW̱,EWESI,NEĆEṈ,TEṈTŦUNIȽI,TOTELNEW̱s—BecarefulnottolaughatotherswhentheyarelearningSENĆOŦEN:Theissueofmindingtheself-confidenceofournewlearners

ŦḴOȽEĆTENalwayscautionedustotakecarewhileaswelearnSENĆOŦEN.Hewouldsay,“be

carefulnottolaughatotherswhentheyarelearningSENĆOŦEN.”Thenhewouldrecallatime

whenhefeltbelittled—whichdiscouragedhimforatimetospeakSENĆOŦEN.Herecalledthat,

asaboyofthirteenyearsorso,hewasheadingupthehilltothenearbystrawberrypatchto

picksomestrawberries.Ashemadehiswayupthehill,oneofhiseldersshoutedfromthe

32

windowofherhome,“I,TX̱INSW̱OĆE?[whereareyougoing?].”Towhichhereplied,“YÁ,SEN

ŦOṈNESU,ȽEMȾELLO,EȻs…strawberries[(Iamheadingupthehilltopicksome

strawberries].Hedecidedinthemomenttosubstitutethewordforstrawberrieswiththe

Englishwordbecauseheforgotthenameforstrawberries(DILEḰ).Aftertellingmethis,he

said,“SUJÁNU,NEĆEṈ[thenshereallylaughed].And,Ireallyfeltembarrassed.”Heexplained

tousthathemanagedtocarrythatembarrassmentwithhimforsometimeafterandwasself-

consciousaboutspeakingthelanguage.Heaskedustobeconsiderateofeachotherinthat

regard,tobemindfulofhowself-consciouslearnerscanbe.Hinton(2002)notesthat,unlike

smallchildren,“asolderchildren,oradultswe…getself-consciousandfearfulaboutmaking

errors…wefearmistakesandmakeallkindsofeffortstoavoidthem”(p.8).Wehavesince

maintainedamindfulnessofournewlearners,evengivingacommunity-basedeveningclassan

esteemedname,ȻENSISTOLW̱HÁLE[joinourhandstogether],whichreferstothehelpwe

receive,eitherbywayofahandshakeorakindgesture,toguideeachotheralong.

STÁṈYEW̱ȻE,ĆÁ,ŚW̱,ÍYsHOȻsEWESI,ḰÁL,TW̱ETŦESḰÁL?—Whatelseislanguagegoodforifnotspoken?

W̱IJELEḴonceaskedus,“Whatelseislanguagegoodforifnotspoken?”Heaskedus,nudging

ustospeak,tryingtoturnusawayfromthefearthatwemighthaveofbeingwrong,making

mistakes—alltheissuesthatanearlylearnerfaces.Ihavesinceadvocatedforspeakingin

SENĆOŦEN,ratherthanmerely“learning”it.Ifalanguageisnotusedinconversationthenitis

onlyasubjectofconversationinthecolonizer’slanguage,e.g.,atopicofdiscussioninEnglish.I

readandwritethelanguageoften,butspeakingthelanguageisthestandardbywhichto

measurelanguagerevitalization.Otherwise,itisjustatopicofconversation.Butifwecan

33

discussSENĆOŦENinSENĆOŦENthenwhynot?Inwhatwaydowefurtherlanguage

revitalizationifwedonotspeakthelanguage?

TheFirstPeople’sCulturalCouncil(2014)characterizesourlanguageas“critically

endangered”(p.14),meaningthatitneedstobespokentolive.Imyselfhearitandspeakit,

makingmyselfapartofitscurrent,itslife,itsbreath.Wherethereisabreakinacircuit,thereis

nocurrent.IbelievethattheactofspeakingSENĆOŦENisthelifebreathofSENĆOŦEN.Whenit

isnotspoken,itwanes,itfadestowarditsdeath.JohnSullivan(2011),co-founderofthe

ZacatecasInstituteforTeachingandResearchinEthnology(IDIEZ)inMexico,speaksaboutthe

importanceofcreatingamono-lingualspacewherelanguagecanbeallowedtoflourishinits

naturalstate,aplacewithoutlanguagedisruptionwherethelanguageisspokenexclusively.He

stressesthatthereisadesperateneedformono-lingualspacesinorderforanIndigenous

languagetosurvive.ReferringtotheIndigenousMexicanlanguageofNahautl,hesays“every

minutewespentspeakingtooneanotherinSpanishwasaminutewewerecontributingtothe

extinctionofNahuatl”(p.142).

In2015,whilelisteningtoapaneloftheKaHakaʻUlaoKeʻelikōlaniCollegeofHawaiian

LanguageFacultyatUniversityofHawaiiatHilo,IheardDr.GlennKalenaSilvasummarizetheir

attitudetowardsandphilosophyoflanguagerevitalization:“It’slanguage,ordeath.Youeither

dowhatneedstobedoneandjustspeak,orletitperish”(Silva,2015).

IftheSENĆOŦENlanguageisnotbeingspokenthereisnoSENĆOŦEN.

QOM,QOMȻSUNIȽMEQELLO—Strengthfromhumilityandpatience

Humilityandpatienceareimportantcharacteristicsofgreatvalueforthoselearning

SENĆOŦEN.Irecognizedthehumilityofmyelderswhocarriedwiththemlifetimesoftraditional

34

teachingsandlanguage.AlthoughspeakingSENĆOŦENwassecondnaturetomyelders,hence

theirstandingasL1speakers,translatingwhatwassaid(andwhatwasmeant)wassometimesa

challenge,onethatonlyin-depthconversationswouldresolve,asmeaningsofthewordswere

clarified.Thehumilityoftheseeldershighlightedtheirwisdom;theywouldoftensay,“I’mnot

toogoodatSENĆOŦEN”evenastheydelvedintoconversationswitheaseastheyworkedto

unravelthemeaningofsomeofthemostcomplexwords,wordsthatIeventuallymanagedto

understandthroughtheirdiscussion.Theirhumilityandtheirpatiencewithourlearningalways

madeiteasytoadmireandrespectthem,anditwasatthosetimeswhenIfoundmyself

reflectingonthenecessityofhumilityandpatience:ȻNEsI,ĆÁU,TW̱EȻSÁ,ENEṈŚX̱ENÁṈs

[whatIadmiredabouttheirways].

Theseeldersalwaysprovidedagentlepaceforourlearning.Therewasnorushing,but

weneverstrayedfromourjobforverylong;ifwedid,asitwasalwaysimportanttocontinue

working.ThereweretimeswhenIfoundmyselfwantingtomoveaheadabitfasteraswe

woulddiscusspartsoflanguagethat“Ialreadyknew,”onlytofindthatthepointofthe

discussionwasalwaysmoreimportantthanIimaginedorwasimmediatelyabletounderstand.

Ineverspokeoutinthesemoments,butIwasabletosensethesame“shiftiness”aroundthe

tablethatIwasfeeling,arestlessnessthatyoumightseeinourLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱

students.Mindyou,nooneeverstoodupandstartedjumpingaroundoryelling.

Astimepassed,andmyappreciationforthevalueofwhatourelderscarriedwiththem

grewgreater,Ilearnedtogivethemthebenefitofthedoubtandanticipatetheirmeaning,the

greatersignificanceofwhattheyweresaying.Often,thesemeaningswouldnotbecomeclear

untillater.Oureldersalwayssay,“QOM,QOM,TTŦENŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN[Strengthenyour

35

mind/feelings]”;ourwordformindisthesameasthewordweuseforfeeling,forinner

dialogue,orforourpersonalfeelings.Forexample,everynowandthenW̱IJELEḴwouldchecka

wordwithus;atonepointheasked,“Doyouguysknowthatword,‘ŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN?’”Iasked,

“It’syourfeelingsisn’tit?”Heagreed,butelaboratedinamannerthatIoftenliketoshare:he

pattedhishandoverhisheartandsaid,“It’syourmind.”Initially,Ithoughthemadeamistake

bypattinghisheartinsteadoftappinghishead.Intime,giventhatrepetitionisitselfa

corner-stoneofthewayweteachourculturalknowledge,IwouldhearmanyofmyW̱SÁNEĆ

peoplesay,“justspeakfromtheheartwhenyouspeak.”Tospeakwithoutreferringtofeelingis

tospeakinauthenticallyordishonestly.Subsequently,onhearingoneofmyrelativestellmeto

speakfromtheheartaftertellinghimthatIfeltnervousaboutspeakingonaparticular

occasion,IrememberedW̱IJELEḴ’sgestureofpattinghisheart:NES,TW̱ETELŦINȻO[thusI

understood]ourwordŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN.

ṮELEȻÁNEṈTW̱SW̱OL—Confidenceandthepowerofencouragement:Justletyourselfsearchyourmind

PatriciaRosborough(2012)emphasizestheimportanceofencouragementasshetalksabout

herexperienceoflearningKwak’wala:“Literaturefromthefieldoflanguagerevitalization,the

peopleIinterviewed,andmypersonalexperiencepointtotheneedforencouragement”(p.

233).

Rosborough(2012)goesontotalkaboutoneparticularpointintimeinthecourseof

herlearningKwak’walawhenshehadbeenconsumedbynumerousnegativeemotions,which

gavehertheabilitytoobserveforherselftheimportanceof“affect”inlearningasecond

language.Earlyon,asIwaslearningourlanguagewithW̱IJELEḴthroughtheMentor

36

ApprenticeshipProgram,Igainedtheconfidencenecessaryto“putmyselfout-there”andallow

myselftospeakmoreopenly.Itisfunnytothinkofitnow,butmyconfidencewaspromptedby

W̱IJELEḴhavingagoodlaughatwhathedescribedasour“graspingatstraws”tocomprehend

whatwasbeingsaidtouswhenhewasdirectingustoorganizeteaandsnacksinSENĆOŦEN.

Hecouldhavebeenfrustrated,buthejustlaughed.Iwaseagerandtensemanytimesover

leadingtothatparticularmoment,oftenafraidofmakingmistakesandhavingtopushpastmy

fearstokeepgoing.Oftenmyfacewassoflushedthatmyheadcouldhavepoppedlikea

balloon.Ihadafeelingofreliefashelaughed,realizingthatIwasinthegoodcompanyofmy

familyandthatIwasnotbeingjudged.AlthoughIwouldratherbecorrectintheuseofmy

languageandmyknowledge,Ilearnedtoembracemymistakes,orrather,Ilearnedtonotbe

soafraidtomakethem.Inthisway,thecourseofmylearningwasrefashionedasIbeganto

testdifferentwaysofconstructingphraseswhenspeakingwithourelders.Iwasnolongeras

afraidtobecorrectedasIhadoncebeen.

Swainetal.(2011)remindsusthatitisoftenthecasewithlearninglanguagethrougha

processofimmersion,thatweplateaubutthatwealsoeventually“scaffold”,ormoveupthe

laddertothenextlevel(p.26).Wavesofemotionmightoverwhelmus,andtheplateauwe’ve

alreadyreachedmightpromptustoquestionourabilityandourconvictionthatwecouldgo

forwardandupward.

IrememberatimewhenweweresittingaroundW̱IJELEḴ’sdiningroomtable,

conversinginSENĆOŦEN.Aftersomanytimesofrepeatingactionsandwords,onlytoforget

themagain—evenwhenwehadjustrepeatedthem—W̱IJELEḴsaid,“ṮELEȻÁNEṈTW̱SW̱OL

[Justletyourselfsearchyourmind].”HethenswitchedtoEnglishandsaid,“Youknow,

37

sometimesallyouhavetodoisencouragesomeoneinwhattheyaredoingandthey’llfindthey

alreadyhavetheanswers.”Icontemplatedthosewordsforquitesometimeandeventually

cametorealizethathehadeffectivelyencouragedustobelievethatwecoulddowhatitwas

thatweweretryingtodo:tolearntospeakSENĆOŦEN.

Recently,IrememberedsomethingelsethatW̱IJELEḴsaidtomeonafewoccasions:

“It’sgoingtobeyouwhosavesthelanguage.”ThefirsttimehesaidthattomeIactuallyfelt

myselfblushandIthought,“Nottooloud”;Ifeltagreatweightbeingplacedonmyshoulders

while,atthesametime,keepingperfectlystillandquietsoasnottosuggestanyconceitonmy

part.ThesecondtimehesaidthattomeIstillblushed,butInoddedmyheadinagreement,

offeringrespectandgratitudeforhiskindness,andacceptinghiswordswithabitmore

comfort.Whenhesaidthistomeagain,Iacknowledgedhiswords,replyingquietly,“HÁÁ.EWE

SENSEENEW̱[Yes,Iwillnotstop].”I,EUQȻNEsENEW̱TŦU,STÁṈOL[AndIhavenotstopped

foranything].

InthenextsectionIwilldiscussthewaysinwhichIhavetakenresponsibilityformy

learning.IwillbelookingatthevariousthingsthatIhavedoneonmyown,andthethingsthatI

havedoneincollaborationandcommunicationwithothers.ThewaysinwhichIhavetaken

responsibilityincludeactivitiesandmethods,butalsoprinciplesandvalueswhichhaveguided

me.

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Chapter3:HI,ḴETȽTETŦESNEW̱EȽSUYÁ,DÁȻEL—Welaunchthecanoetogoacrosstotheotherside

I,ÁMEḴ,SITSENȻENEĆ,NEPENEḴNESUYÁ,DÁȻEL,IST.I,TUEÍYTŦESȻÁĆEL[IambringingtheteachingsthatIreceivedtotheothersideforthem.Andthedayisstillgood].

ŚX̱ENÁṈsȻNEsI,TOTLENEW̱—ThewaysthatIhavelearnedSENĆOŦEN

TherearemanywaysthatIhavecometolearnSENĆOŦEN.Icannotsaythatthereisone

definitiveway,rather,Iencouragemanydifferentways.Havingsaidthat,determinationisa

qualitythatIbelievetobeabsolutelyvitaltomylearningandspeakingSENĆOŦEN.Mindyou,I

amdeterminedbecauseIaminterested.Ihaverealizedthatinterestanddetermination

complementeachotherwell,somewhatlikeagoodconductorisnecessaryforthetransmission

ofanelectricalcurrent.Interestanddeterminationhave,together,providedthemaincatalyst

formylanguageacquisition—amongthemanysourcesfromwhichIhavedrawntosupportmy

acquisition.

HaleandHinton(2001)emphasizethat“successfullanguagerevitalizationprograms

haveanumberofkeycharacteristics,amongthempersistence,sustainability,andhonestywith

oneself”(p.16).Similarly,Krashen(1982)identifiesthe“affectivefilter,”whichdeterminesthat

agoodlearnerhasself-confidence,motivationandlowanxiety(onthepremisethathigher

levelsofanxietydeter,orpreventeffectivelearning.

InthefollowingpassagesIwilldescribethewaysthatIhavelearnedSENĆOŦEN.

STOȽESSENȻETŦESȻÁ,ȽTESXÁLEȽ—Ireadwhatwehavewritten

IreadSENĆOŦENoften.IreadfromtheliststhatwerecompiledbymylateSILELE,notesthatI

havetakenfromeveningclassesandmeetingswiththeelders,publishedbooks,databasesthat

39

havebeencreatedwithourelders,aswellasdraftversionsofoursoon-to-appeardictionary

developedbyTimothyMontler(1991),linguistandfriendtoourSENĆOŦENteam;Timothyhas

workedwithanumberofL1SENĆOŦENelderssincethesummerof1980throughtotoday.I

readanythingandeverythingthatIcangetmyhandson.Iappreciateourorthography.I

appreciatethatitwascreatedbymylateSILELE,andthatitwascreatedbyoneofourL1

speakers.IlookatthestoriesandanalyzethemforallthatIcangetfromthem.IfIcannotget

pastaphrasethatIdonotunderstand,thenIgethunguponit.Iworkonthatphraseuntilitis

understood.IhavemadeerrorstimeandtimeagainasIworktocomprehend—realizingthatit

isokayifIdonotunderstand,withoutbecomingcomplacentaboutnotbeingableto

understand.Ihaverealizedthat,asIcontinuemysearchforunderstanding,Iwillinvariablyfind

themeaningofaphraseorword.

Asalearner,Idonotdiscountreading,especiallygiventhatourorthographywas

developedbymySILELE.Wecarrywithus,afterall,thebeliefthattheorthographywasagift

toourpeople.Somemembersofourextendedlanguagerevitalizationcommunitysaythat,in

learningalanguage,somuchemphasisshouldnotbeplacedontheorthography,particularlyin

theearlystagesoflearningasecondlanguage(L2).Similarly,Greymorning(2016),andHinton

(2001,2002)alsoemphasizethenecessitytodeveloptheorallanguageattheoutset.However,

Ibelieve—alongwithotherscholarswhohavestudiedtheprocessesbywhichasecond

languageislearned—thatalegibleandcomprehensibleinput-basedapproach(suchasthat

whichcomeswithreadingandwritingforpleasure)willhavesignificantbenefittodeveloping

proficiencyonceabasicmasteryofourorthographyisachieved(Krashen,1981,p.102;Krashen,

1982,p.22,p.164;Piske&Young-Scholten,2009,p.81)

40

Creatingaspeakingenvironmentisundoubtedlyimportant—asabottomline—if

languagerevitalizationistoachieveasecurelysocializedlanguage.Nonetheless,ourSENĆOŦEN

orthographyisagreattool,availabletobeusedtoitsgreatestpotential,suchasallowingthe

creationofacademicandliterarywritingsinourownright.WhenIfeeldoubt,Iamreassured

whenIlooktothesuccessesexperiencedbytheHawaiianlanguagerevitalizationefforts.Here,

orthographyisanimportanthallmarkinthedevelopmentoflanguageresourcesusedto

revitalizetheHawaiianlanguage.Amongotherthings,ithasallowedanIndigenouslanguageto

haveasignificantpresenceinboththemainstreamacademicmilieuaswellasthemedia.

WilsonandKamanapointoutthat,“academicknowledgeisseenasanimportanttoolin

strengtheningthemauliandprovidingnewdomainsinwhichitcanflourish”(Hale&Hinton,

2001,p.150).

SDIWIEȽ:NIȽNESȻÁ,NES,ḰEL,NEȻELEṮXÁLSI,ȻSEMEQSTÁṈ—Prayer:Thisismycommunionwiththesacredcreatorandallthings

Oneofthewaystocontinuelearningalanguageisthroughourculturalpractices,themost

notableofwhichisinprayer:DIWIEȽ.6Oureldersagreethatweshould“notforgetaboutit.”

Whenwewereallsimplyapprentices,SȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦEN,focusedonlearningSENĆOŦEN,

wealwaysbeganourdaywithprayer;everyapprenticewouldgetaturntoleadtheprayer.

Everynowandthenourelderswouldopenthesessionforuswithaprayer,andwewouldtake

noteofsomeofthekeytermsthattheywoulduse.Ibegantonoticeacertainrichnessinthe

waythisoneformofspeechvaried,andthewaythatdifferentsubjectswereaddressed.My

6AlthoughitisgenerallyagreedthatDIWIEȽtranslatesasprayer,contextcanshiftthemeaningsothatitisnoteasilytranslatabletoEnglish.

41

SÁĆSSTOLȻEȽeventuallyrecommendedthatIuseprayertolearn—asignificantideathatI

haveincorporateditintomy“process”oflearningSENĆOŦEN.

OurcohortintheSȾÁSENTŦESENĆOŦENhasbeenveryprivilegedtobeabletolearn

manyculturalpracticesandteachings—notleastthattherearemanywaystopray,beit

throughsong,ceremony,ordirectcommunion.Ourcommunionisnotnecessarilywith“god,”

orthe“creator,”butitcanbewithanimals,plants,oreveninanimateforms,events,or,

basically,withanyphenomenon.Whenoneconsidersthepresenceofsuchadiverserangeof

thingstocommunewith,thereisnoshortageofopportunitytopracticespeaking.OnceIcame

toappreciatethatIcouldcommunewithanything,Ifeltasenseofliberation.

ToprovideabettersenseofwhatImeanhere,IwillspeaktosomeofthewaysthatI

eitherlearnedorpracticedspeakingSENĆOŦENonmyown.Someofthethingsthatwe

traditionallyaddresshaveprayernames,allowingustocommunewithdirectly—forexample,

themorningspirit,ordaybreak,bothofwhichtheW̱SÁNEĆpeopleconsidertobesacred.We

believethemorningspirittobethekeeperofday,andthatitisofthesebeingsthatweaskfor

thingsthroughoutthecourseofourday.Plantsandanimalsalsohaveprayernamesthatwe

usetocommunedirectlywiththem,forexample,whenhunting,fishing,gatheringor

harvestingmedicinesandfoods.Weaskthemfortheirhelp,thankthem,andletthemknowof

ourintentions,orweacknowledgetheirrelationshipwithusandtheirgiftstous.Thesewaysof

speakingtosacredbeingsarenotexclusivelyrelegatedtoprayer:asoureldershaveoftentold

us,thereisnotonesinglewaytopray,therecanbeaprayerineverything.Ihavehadthe

privilegeofnoticingthiswhenevertheyoffereduptheirownprayers.

42

AnexampleofthiscanbefoundinaconversationIhadwithmySÁĆSaboutmy

ŚDEMȻES[car].Hedirectedmetobesuretoacknowledgeevenmycarbecauseitisavessel

thatcarriesone’slife—thatitwillcareforyouifyoucareforit.Ourbeliefisthatallthingslike

tobeacknowledged,andthatthereisasacrednessindoingso.Andso,Ihaveadoptedthis

practice,integratingitwithmymanyroutines.InowrefertomyŚDEMȻESasmy₭E,₭OUEŚEN

[companion/travellingbuddy]justasmySÁĆSdidwhenreferringtohisowncar.“ISTÁ,YÁSCUL

₭E,₭OUEŚEN[Let’sgotoschool]”IsaytomycarasIpatthedashboard,or“YÁ,ȽTEȻENET

TŦEḴESELIN[We’regoingtograbsomegasoline].”

Despitetheextravagantgoings-onofcontemporarysociety,whichcaninterferewith

thisframeofthoughtfromtimetotime,Imakesuretoreturntoacknowledgingandendearing

tomeallmannersofthingsthatmayotherwisebeoverlookedortakenforgranted.

NESĆȺȻNEsÍY,SOTTW̱NES,TEL,ŦINI,W̱TÁLḴEN—Someexercisesthathavehelpedmedevelopcomprehensionandspeechresponsetime

In2007,whenIwasattendingeveningclassesforSENĆOŦENattheSaanichAdultEducation

Centre,we—thatis,communitymembers,someofwhomwouldlaterbecomeSȾÁSENTŦE

SENĆOŦENandLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱staff—wouldbegineachclasswithacountingexercise,

countingfromonetoonehundred,partoftheself-talktowhichSwainetal.(2011)refer.The

purposeofthisexercisewastomediatethedevelopmentofthevariouscomplexsoundsthat

SENĆOŦENcomprises.Thephrasethataroseinthisprocess,whichbestsumsupthepurposeof

thecountingexercisewithitsbuilt-inpronunciationchallengesforabeginninglearneris

“QOM,QEMTTŦENSENĆOŦENŦOŦEN[StrengthenyourSENĆOŦENtongue]”7ThisSENĆOŦEN

7ThisarosefrommymotherȻOSINIYE,duringSENĆOŦENeveningclassesin2007.

43

phraseisagoodexampleofwhatSwainetal.(2011)identifyas“otherregulation”(p.34).It

becameamotto,standingforatactictopromotebothlearningtheSENĆOŦENenunciationas

wellaslanguageself-improvementingeneral.AsIconsideredmyownlackoffluencyinlightof

howappealingthesoundofthefluentspokenlanguageis,Iwascompelledtopushmyselfto

learnfaster,tostrengthenmySENĆOŦENŦOŦENthroughthecountingexercise—to“self-

regulate”inthewaySwainetal.(2011)describeit(p.34).Thereafter,Icountedtomyselfwhile

inthecar,toandfromclassesatCamosunCollegeandthenlatertheUniversityofVictoria.

Duringthistime,drivingandcounting,twothingsoccurredtome:responsetimeand

numericalorder.Whenspeakingtoourelders,IoftenfoundthatIneededtoincreasemy

responsetime.Mypausesbetweenwordsandphraseswereperhapslongerthananyonewas

comfortablewithastheywaitedwhileIconsideredtheirquestionsormyresponses.More

oftenthannot,afteralongpause,ourelderswouldjustrepeatwhattheysaidin

W̱ENITEM,ḴEN[English].Iknowthatincreasingmyresponsetimewasessential,anditdawned

onmethatonewayofdevelopingafasterresponsetimecouldbebyusingastandarddeckof

playingcards.ThisideacamefromcomputergamesthatIusedtoplaywhichweregeared

towardchallengingresponsetimes,memory,andhand-eyeco-ordination.

ThefirstthingIdidwiththecardswastoshufflethem,thengothroughthedeck

identifyingeachcard(eitherbynumber,facecard,suit,oralloftheabove)untilthedeckwas

usedup,andthenIwouldrepeattheprocess.Afterexcellingatsingledenominations,Imoved

ontotensandsoon.ThesedaysIusethecardstomemorizethenumerousdifferentwaysthat

numbersareusedinlanguage.Forexample,thereisanumericalformformostnounsinthe

SENĆOŦENlanguage,suchasNEȾE[one],NEȾÁW̱[once],NEȾ,OMET[oneunit],NEȾ,NEȾE[one

44

atatime],NEȾÁUTW̱,MEW̱[onevillage],andsoon.Alotoflanguagecanbelearnedby

alternatingthenumberformswithsuchsuffixesastheabove,orothermorphologicalinfix

changes(e.g.NOȾE[oneperson],NE,NOUEȾE[theonlyone]).Thisexampleprovidessome

insightintosomeofthecomplexitiesoftheSENĆOŦENlanguagewheretherootwordsform

thebasisofnumerousotherwords.

OnceIgotthehangofanumberwithouthavingtorefertoawrittensource,thenext

thingItriedtoimproveonwasmyresponsetime.Ididthisbysettingatimer,trackingthetime

ittakestogothroughthedeck,andtryingtobeatthattime.Eventually,Ishiftedmyemphasis

onincreasingmyresponsetimeinordertobettersustainconversationswithourL1speakers.It

wasimportant,then,todeveloptheabilitytobetterhearlanguage.Wherelearningtoname

thecardsquicklyhelpedmedevelopabetterverbalresponsetime,Iwonderedhowabetter

audioresponsemightbedeveloped.Ifiguredthattheremustbeawaythathearing(or

grasping)thelanguagemorequicklyasitwasbeingspokencouldbedevelopedinasimilar

fashionusingthecards.Theactivitythatcametomindwastopartnerwithsomeoneelsefor

thesameexercise,butactingasalistenerinstead,andwritingthenumbersdownastheother

participantwasspeakingwhileworkingwiththedeckofcards.

IntheabsenceofhavingSENĆOŦENspeakersnearbytohelpus,itbecomesourdutyas

languagerevivaliststotakethetimetolearnonourown.Becausewedonothavetheluxuryof

havingmanySENĆOŦENspeakers,wemustsimplybecomeresponsibleforthebettermentof

ourselves,perhapslikeprofessionalathletes:perfectingourfundamentalsandtargetskillsin

preparationforthebiggame,whichisÍYOLS,ḰEL,NEUEL[agoodconversation].

45

HE,HOISENOLȻNEsŚDEMȻES,OȽNESULELÁNEṈI,ḰÁL,ḰÁLSET—Iamdrivinginmycaralone,listeningandspeakingtomyself

Drivingaloneinmycarbecameagoodplacetopushmyselftobettermypronunciationand

comprehension—itbecameagreatwaytoenactwhatSwainetal.(2011)identifyas“object

regulation”and“self-regulation”(p.38).Inotherwords,Ihadameansoflanguage

self-improvementasIroutinelydrovetoandfrommydestinations(suchastheUniversity);the

timeinthecarallowedmetobeself-directed,andtheenclosedspacewaswell-suitedto

speakingprivately.HaleandHinton(2001)refertothiskindofanarrangementasactive

learning(p.220),whichIunderstandastakingaleadershiproleinmyownlearning(Hinton

2002,p.18).

ThesolitudeofdrivingallowedmethefreedomtopracticespeakingSENĆOŦENinan

“unhinged”way.Igotsatisfactionfromdoingsomethingthatoccupiedthetimethatittookto

gettomydestination,aswellashavingapurposeandsenseofaccomplishment.Duringthese

times,IbegantodevelopwhatSwainetal.(2011)refertoasa“highermentalprocess”(p.37);

Irealized,duringoneofmydrivestotheuniversity,thatdevelopingaquickerresponsetime

canbeimportanttocommunication.Thesolitarydriveswereidealforthetediousnessof

practicebecauseIcouldcountcontinuouslywithoutinterruption.Earlyon,asinglecountto

onehundredwouldtakeuptheentiretriptotheuniversity,whichtookanywherefromfifteen

minutestohalfanhour.Ibegantowonderabouttime,specifically,whetherIcouldcountout

onehundredsecondsinSENĆOŦENinonehundredseconds.Ipracticedthenumbersdiligently

andbegantoprogress.Whereithadinitiallytakenmetwentytothirtyminutestocounttoa

hundred,Iwaseventuallyabletocounttoonehundredseveraltimeswhiledriving;and,at

somepointIwasnolongerabletokeeptrackofthenumberoftimesthatIcouldcounttoone

46

hundredduringadrive.Meanwhile,Idoubtthatanyonewouldbeablecounttoonehundredin

onehundredsecondsbecausetheSENĆOŦENnumbersgettobeamouthfulafterthenumber

ten—Letthisstandasachallenge!

Ithendecidedthatitwastimetomoveontoanotherformoflanguagepractice.Atthis

time,anumberofaudiorecordingshadbeenproducedbyourlanguageteachers.These

focusedonvocabularythathadtodowithtellingtime,kinshipterms,andcommonphrases.I

practicedwiththeseuntiladditionalrecordingsofstoriesbecameavailable,storiestoldentirely

inSENĆOŦENbysomeofourL1elders.DespitemyhavinglittlecomprehensionofwhatIheard,

Iwouldnonethelesstrytoimitatetheirwords.IfIwasunabletoexactlyimitatewhattheywere

saying,IwouldsimplymimicwhatIthoughtthesoundswere,approximatingtheintonationand

rhythm.Ifoundmyselfsayingwordsrandomly,essentiallybabblingtheintonationsand

rhythmsthatIrecognized.

Engaginginthisformofmimicryhasgivenmeadifferentsenseofthegrammatical

structureofSENĆOŦEN—throughasenseofvariationinrhythmandsound.Byswitchingback

andforthbetweennonsensicalbanteringandcarefulattentiontothegrammaticalstructure,I

eventuallybegantoformphrasesthatwereinspiredbythesoundofthoserhythmsand

intonations.IalsousedphrasesthatIwasalreadyfamiliarwith,andIappliedtherhythmsand

intonationstothese.Ieventuallybeganstringingtogethermyownsentencesandphrases,and

Ibecameabletodeterminethegrammaticalnuancesonthebasisofageneralorderthatthe

rhythmofthelanguageseemedtosetout.Thisphaseinmylanguagelearningwas,intheterms

setoutbySwainetal.(2011)my“micro-genesis”(p.34).IsawthisasaprocesswhereI

unravelledtruthsaboutthelanguage—somewhatliketeachingmyselftoplaythepianopurely

47

becauseIlikedasong.Iwasseeing,inmyownway,whattheeldersoftenspokeofwhen

talkingaboutthelanguage,namelythat,speakingSENĆOŦENfeltlikesinging:Iwasbeginning

tohearthesongofspokenSENĆOŦEN.

IfinddrivingtobeagreatopportunitytopracticeSENĆOŦENwiththehelpofthose

recordings.Thelanguageproficiencysoapparentinthestoriesoftenstillexceedsmyown,yetI

continuetolistenandmimicthewaytheyspeak,fumblingwiththewordsuntilIeventually

makesenseofthem.IhavegainedmanyinsightsaboutthestructureofSENĆOŦENthroughthis

come-by-chancemethodandIhavealsogainedtheconfidencetoexperimentwiththe

language.However,Ialsoseethepossibilityofadead-endwiththissolitarymethod;Ifind

thereisatheneedtoapplyittoconversation,andperhapstoapplyourorthographytotest

andconfirmofmytheoriesandperceptions.

ȻEMLEW̱sTŦESḰÁLI,U,ŚW̱,HÍsȻSUNIȽSȻÁsEṮSENĆOŦENNES,QEN,NEW̱—SENĆOŦENrootwordsandsuffixesthatIhavenoticed

DuringoneofoursessionswithW̱IJELEḴ,wesatatthediningroomtableofhishome,likeso

manytimesbefore,askinghimaboutwordsforthisandthat,towhichhewouldobligingly

respond.Aftermanytimesofusaskingandhisanswering,perhapsnoticingthatwedidnot

reallycomprehendSENĆOŦENgrammarandwordstructure,hetoldusthatweshould

familiarizeourselveswithrootwords.Headdedthat,ifweknewtherootwords,wewould

“haveitmade”withthelanguage,andwewouldthenbasicallybeabletosayanythingwe

wantedshouldweputourmindstoit.Iwasonlypartiallyresponsivetohisproposal;infact,I

wasalittledismissiveofitbecauseIwasfixatedonmyown(narrower)methodsatthattime.I

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eventuallycametounderstandthesignificanceofrootwordswhenIfinallysawwhataroot

wordlookedlikeinSENĆOŦEN:Thiswasanotherrevelationtome.

Afterthis,Ihadarenewedinterestinthewordliststhathadbeencompiledfor

SENĆOŦENovertime.IthoughtofmanyoftheliststhatmySILELEdevelopedwhichshowed

howanumberofwordsstemmedfromthesamerootword.Ihadneverformallystudied

linguistics,butIfoundmyselfinterestedinSENĆOŦEN’smorphologybeforeIknewwhat

morphologywas.Ifoundmyselfbeginningtoexploretheextentofthewordsthatwere

availableonthewordlists.ThewordliststhatmySILELEdevelopedprovedtobeagreatplace

tostartbecausetheydo—withoutanyformalanalysisofwordstructure—inherentlyconsider

themorphologyofSENĆOŦEN.AsIreadwordlistafterwordlist,Ibegantoseewordformsthat

Ialreadyknewbyspeakingandwritingthem,butthistimeIfoundmyselfthinkingabout“how”

itisthattheymeanwhattheymean.Itwasatthispointthatperhapsthemostcrucialquestion

emergedwithrespecttothewayIwaslearningSENĆOŦEN,andhowIshouldproceed:Howdo

wordsmeanwhattheymeaninSENĆOŦEN—inthecontextofSENĆOŦENculture?AsI

consideredthisquestion,IrealizedthatIneededtobeabletothinkofaboutthelanguagein

suchawayastobeemptyofW̱ENITEM,ḴEN[English]:ThegoalistothinkofSENĆOŦENin

SENĆOŦEN.

Asaresultofmyexplorationofrootwords,Ihavedevelopedamoreacutesenseof

hearingandcomprehendingSENĆOŦEN.AsIhavecometounderstandmanyrootsandhow

theyinformotherwords,Ihavebeenabletorecognizewordsandmeaningsmorequicklyjust

bylisteningandhearingtheindividualpartsofaword.Intheabsenceofbeingabletohearthe

rootoftheword,Iwouldmerelybewritingthewordsouttoprovidemyselfwithavisualto

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whichIcouldthenrefer.ThisiswheretheSENĆOŦENorthographyisagodsend—becauseithas

providedmewiththemeansbywhichIcanphysicallymanipulate(orbreakdown)awordifI

amunabletounderstanditinanyotherway,bysound,insocialcontext,orconceptually.

GiventheresourceoftheSENĆOŦENorthography,andworkingouthowtophysically

manipulateaword,Ihavelearnedtoreframemythinkingintermsofisolating“root”from

“suffix”.Thisallowsmetohearaword—hearboththerootandthesuffix—fromwhichIcan

workoutthemeaningsinSENĆOŦEN.Irememberthat,atsomepoint,Itoldoneofmyrelatives

(whocurrentlystudiesinourW̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTProgram)aboutrootwordsandsuffixwords.I

foundmyselfexplaininghowtointerchangethemusingthefollowingexample:Iusedtheroot

QEN-[see,look],andthecorrespondingsuffix-ETEṈ[did,causedto,didto],whichformsthe

wordQENETEṈ[lookedat].Ithenintroducedseveralofthecorrespondingsuffixesona

languagewheel,pivotingthenextsuffixonthewheeltoalignwiththestationaryroot,QENSET

[takecare,watchovertheself],thenpivoteditthewheelagaintoformQENOṈE[toseeyou].

Justbeforethisdemonstrationmyformyrelative,aroundthetimethatIwas

apprenticingwithW̱IJELEḴinMAP,myinterestinSENĆOŦENrootwords—prefixes,suffixesand

SENĆOŦENmorphologyingeneral—wasintensifiedbythePBSNOVAdocumentaryCrackingthe

MayaCode(2008)whichlookedathowscholarsandanthropologistsworkedout,overmany

yearsofintensivestudy,howtodecodethehieroglyphicwritingdevelopedbytheMayan

people,aformofcommunicationthatwaseradicatedthroughaprocessofpersecutionatthe

handsofcolonists.Thedocumentaryshowedhowwordparticles,roots,andsuffixescouldbe

revealed.Thepresentationrenderednotonlybeautifulhieroglyphicimagery,butphysical

representationsoflanguagemorphologythatIimmediatelyidentifiedwith.Theseimagesgave

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meaperspectivefromwhichtoimaginethedeconstructionandreconstructionofSENĆOŦEN:

ONES,TW̱EXÁLE,NEW̱ṮÁ,[Thus,myinterestwassparkedagain].

ThePBSdocumentaryexpandedmyinterestinmorphology,anddrewmetoourown

wordlistsandresources—tolookatthemmoreclosely,andtostudytheminarenewedlight.

OurBEDILR(BachelorofEducationinIndigenousLanguageRevitalization)studentswerealso

beingexposedtothestudyoflinguistics,whichledtoconversationsaboutthetheoryand

applicationoflanguagemorphology.IhadsomeconversationswithJanetLeonard(agraduate

studentatUVIC),whonotonlyexplainedsomekeyaspectsofmorphologybutwhoalso

referredmetoongoingworkintheLinguisticsDepartmentatUVic,suchasClaireTurner’s

(2006)workwithSENĆOŦENmorphology,andTimothyMontler’s(1991)workwithsomeofour

lateelders.Currently,Montlerisworkingonourdictionaryandwehavehadthebenefitof

collaboratingwithhimonitsdraftform.IhavereferredtotheseresourcesasIconsiderhowto

deconstructwordsandthinkabouthowtoreconstructotherwordsusingtheprefixes,infixes,

andsuffixesthatIhavebecomefamiliarwith.Iwritethewordpartsoutonlooseleafpaperor

whiteboardinthefollowingway:

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QEN[see,look]

QENET[tosee,lookatshe/he/it]

QENETEṈ[lookedatshe/he/it]

QENEW̱[seen,saw]

QENSET[towatchoneself]

QENOṈE[tomanagetoseeyou]

QENOṈES[tomanagetoseeme]

Thisprocessofobserving,deconstructing,andreconstructingwordshasbecomeroutine

tome,anditisoftenthesubjectofconversationamongmyLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱andSȾÁSEN

TŦESENĆOŦENcolleagues,aswellaswithmySÁĆSandmyTÁN.

ḰEL,NEȻELTW̱OL.KÁLTW̱OLTIÁSḰÁL—Justconverse,justspeakthislanguage

IspeakwithmycolleaguesandrelativesinSENĆOŦENatanyandalltheopportunitiesthatIam

given.Weallspeakinourowncharacteristicway,withvaryinglevelsofproficiencyand,

perhapsintuitively,considerwhatSwainetal.(2011)identifyasour“zone(s)ofproximal

development(ZPD)”anddescribedas“anopportunityforlearning…thedistancebetweenbeing

andbecoming…andadialectical[balancedtension]unityoflearninganddevelopment”(p.20).

Wealsoconsider—moreconsciouslyperhapsthanZPD—our“communityofpractice”

(COP),whichSwainetal.(2011)describedas“learning[which]involvesagradualand

deepeningprocessofparticipationinacommunityofpractice”(p.27).

Ourconversationsareoftenframedinthefollowingways:(a)ḰEL,NEUELOL

[simply/justconversation,casual];(b)ĆTÁTEL[askingeachother];(c)SḰEL,ḰEL[news,updates,

informing];(d)X̱IÁM[storytelling];(e)W̱IḴÁĆE,NEUEL[jokingaroundwitheachother];and(f)

52

ĆȺI,NEUEL[workingtogether],eitherbywayofteachingchildren,adults,orcollaboratingon

curriculum/resources.

TherearesomanythingsforwhichmycolleaguesandIliketogiveNETÁN,ȻOSINIYE

andNESÁĆS,STOLȻEȽpraiseandacknowledgement.Apartfromtheiryearsofdedicationto

thepreservationofourlanguage,wehaveallhadthebenefitoflearningdirectlyfromthem—

atthetribalschool,ineveningclasses,MAP,andasweworkedtogether.Iaminspiredand

filledwithpridetothinkthatwehavecometothisplacewherewearenotonlyabletowork

togetherinsuchasuccessfulsetting,thelanguageimmersionschool,butthatweḰEL,NEUEL

OLTŦESḰÁLȽTE[wejustconverseinourlanguage].WhenIspeakwithmycousinsPENÁW̱EṈ

andSDEMOXELTENwealwaysjokeandtellstoriesifwearenotdiscussinglanguage

composition,ormorphologicalandgrammaticalstructures.Thereisagreatfreedominour

conversations,whichIbelievetobeavitalcomponentintherevitalizationofalanguage.Iam

alsoequallyfreetojokewithallmycolleaguesandSENĆOŦENspeakingrelatives:SX̱EDŦELISIYE,

MENEŦIYE,NENSIMU,STIWET,XEDXELMEȽOT,ĆULÁȾE,ȻELIXELWET,WIYAḴSEMKE,

KÁNTENOT(therearetwowhosharethesamenameandworkwithus),andJacquelineJim

(MissJim)—or,astheW̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTstudentshavecometorefertoher—MISĆIMIYE,a

SENĆOŦEN-izedformofMissJim.

MycurrentjobatourLENOṈETSCUL,ÁUTW̱istoassistthestudentsinourclassrooms

byprovidinglanguagesupport.Essentially,myrolehasbecomethatofalanguagementor,

whereIamabletoofferlanguagesupportforthoselanguageteacherswhohaverecentlytaken

onresponsibilityfortheteachingandmanagementoftheirownimmersionclasses.Ihelpwith

themanagementofstudentbehavioursandroutines,whilebeingonhandifstudentshave

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questionsabouthowtosaysomethinginSENĆOŦEN.Mypresencehelpstomaintainthe

integrityoftheimmersionenvironment.Iamoftenaskedtohelpdevelopresourcesand

curriculumbut,intheabsenceofotherresources,Iamtheresource.

HOȻNEsḰEL,NEUELŦENETÁN[WhenIspeaktomyTÁN]wealsolaughandjoke,but

wewillhaveseriousconversationsaboutourSNEPENEḴ[traditionalteachings].Inthesame

spirit,IconversewithmySÁĆSSTOLȻEȽ.Currently,whenIpassthroughthehallwaysofour

ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱TribalSchool(probablyintheafternoons)IwillseemyTÁNalongthewayand

willgreether,questionher,ormakeacommentabouttheeventsoftheday.InthemorningsI

gettoworkwithNESÁĆSintheW̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTProgram.Intheprocessofteachingour

diplomastudentsweconverseinSENĆOŦENinfrontofeveryone,inthiswaydemonstrating

conversationandgenerallyjusthavingagoodtimejokingandteasingeachother.Asour

W̱SENĆOŦEN,ISTstudentshavethemselvescometounderstandandspeakSENĆOŦEN,they

havebecomeabletoparticipateinthejokingandteasing.

ȻȽ,ĆE,OUESSENȻENES,ŦE,IWENȻNEsI,ḰÁL,TELNEṈENE—IamusingmyauthenticfeelingswhenIspeakwithmydaughter

InasimilarveintoKrashen(1981,1982)andRosborough(2012),McIvor(2012)addressesthe

conceptof“affect”inlearningsecondlanguage;shereferstotheimportanceof“feelings,

motives,needs,attitudesandemotionalstates”(p.166).Similarly,Fishman(1991)discusses

theimportanceof“overtness”,i.e.,“havingthenecessaryattitude/volition,competenceand

performance”(p.44),andusingandretaining“theaffectiveintimacyofthefamily-

neighborhood-communityidentity-and-societybindingexperience"(p.373).Fishman

emphasizesthatitisthroughthislanguageofaffectiveintimacy—usuallyfoundinthefamily

54

setting—thatthenexusofintergenerationalmothertonguetransmissionispositioned(p.67).I

believethatspeakingfromatrueemotionalstate,withauthenticfeelings,inthelanguageof

intimacy,tobeacrucialaspectofSENĆOŦENSḰÁL[language]revitalization—becausethisis

howwewillachieveintergenerationallanguagetransmission.ItwillbethewaybywhichIwill

ensurethatthelanguagelivesonwithmydaughter:TW̱,YOŦȽTEOLU,ḰEL,NEUELȽTENE

ṈENEI,ESEEȻSESȻÁ,ȽTEŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN[mydaughterandIaresimplyalwaysspeakingabout

ourfeelings].

WhenIwaslearningwithW̱IJELEḴ(inMAPprogram),itseemedtomethathewould

checkinwithustomakesurethatwhatweweredoingwasnotgoingtobeinvain.Hewas

makingsureourSENĆOŦENlearningwasgoingtobeforthebetter.Attheoutset,Ialways

tiptoedaroundthenotionofbeingalanguageteacher,wheremycolleagueswerealwaysclear

thattheywouldbelanguageteachers.However,duringthetimethatIwaslearnSENĆOŦEN

withW̱IJELEḴ,mySTOLES[wife,lifepartner]andIwereexpectingourdaughter.Itdawnedon

methatthiswouldbeanidealopportunityforpreservingSENĆOŦEN:W̱SÁNEĆcouldhave

someonewhowouldlearnSENĆOŦENasfirstlanguagespeakeragainifIcouldcommitmyself

tospeakingtoheronlyinSENĆOŦEN.HaleandHinton(2001)refertothissituationas“one

parentonelanguage”(p.13).W̱IJELEḴwouldaskmewhatIwasgoingtodowiththelanguage

onceIknewhowtospeakit,andIwouldreply,“I’mgoingtospeakonlySENĆOŦENtomy

ṈENE.”SayingthosewordstoW̱IJELEḴfeltlikeapromise,onethatIrelishedwithanticipation

forthedaywhenmydaughterwouldbeborn.

Ididgetsomepracticewhileshewasstillinthewomb,usingparticularphrases,

sentimentalthingsthatIwouldliketosay.Ibegantowritesomeofthesedown;Iwouldthink

55

aboutthethingsthatIwouldsaytoherwhenshewasfirstborn,suchas,“NESṮIEṮNEȻE[I

loveyou],”and“JÁNÍYȻENsTÁĆEL[welcome/itisgoodyouhavearrived].”WhatIdidnot

anticipatewasthatmypreconceivedsentimentsdidnotpreparemeforthepowerofthatgreat

waveofemotionsthatwouldovertakemewhenshewasborn.SomeofthephrasesIrecorded

wereinfactthingsthatIwouldsay,andwereperhapsideal,butitturnedoutthatmy

emotionalinvestmentinthosewordsseemedtometobesecond-hand.

Whenmydaughterwasborn,Iwassoovercomewiththeemotionthatcomeswith

becomingaparentthatIwantedonlytospeaktoherasauthenticallyasIcould—yetIdidnot

wanttobetraythepromisethatIhadmadeaboutonlyspeakingtoheronlyinSENĆOŦEN.

Instinctively,Iregrettedhavingsaidthat:eventhoughIknewwhatIwantedtosayandhowto

sayit,IfeltfearfulthatIwouldbedisingenuousinmyuseofthewords.So,Ithoughtofthe

wordsthatIwantedtosaytoher—forwhatmayhavebeenalongtime(Iamuncertainofhow

muchtimepassedbecausewerealonetogether)—andIcametorealizethatwhatIwantedto

saywouldbeincorrectinanyway,rather,itwasthattheemotionsIwasfeelingseemed

disconnectedfromthewordsthemselves.Andso,Itookmytime,consideringeachword

carefullysoasnottobetrayeitherthewordsthemselvesormyfeelings.WitheachwordthatI

spoke,Icheckedtomakesureitproperlyrepresentedmyfeeling,andinthiswayIinvestedmy

feelingsintothewordsasIspokethem.HadInotdonethisIwouldprobablybespeaking

EnglishtoÍYĆÁIŦIYEtoday.FromthatdayforwardIhaveonlyspokentomydaughterin

SENĆOŦEN.

Astimepassed,newchallengesemerged:questionsofhowtoconversewithmy

daughter,howtodisciplineher,howtoplay,orhowtoexpresstraditionalW̱SÁNEĆteachings.

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ItwasfromthatfirstexperiencewithherthatIcametounderstandthatmatchingemotions

andfeelingstowordshonestlyandauthenticallyisvitaltothesuccessofintergenerational

languagetransmission.JoshuaFishman(1991)referstothisasthe“languageofintimacy”(p.5)

Ifindittobeinsufficienttosimplylearnthelanguageforthesakeofspeakingtokenphrases—

becausedoingsoenablesbarriersthatactuallypreventspeakingthelanguageonadeeperand

morepersonallevel.Thinkingbacktowhenmydaughterwasborn,Iresistedspeaking

SENĆOŦENfromanemotionalplacebecauseIdidnotwanttobetraywhatwasinmyheartby

speakingwhatseemedlikeemptyphrases.ThiswasthefirsttimethatIhadtospeakaboutmy

feelingswithoutthehelpofW̱ENITEM,ḴEN[English].

Italsoseemstomethatbeingabletospeakauthenticallyaboutanemotionalstatewill

promotegoodmentalhealth.Dr.LeeBrown(2004)talksabout“emotionalintelligence,”in

termsofpromotingabalanceofwellness.Brownrelatesthistolearning:

Anyundamagedhumanbrainiscapableoflearninganything.Alllearningdifficultiesaretheresultofdistresspatterns.Distressinterfereswithandpreventslearning….Thelearningprocessisacceleratedbythelearnerfeelingapproved,respected,havingsuccess,andanawareclosenesswithotherstudents.(p.80)

Idonot,however,thinkofmydaughterasastudent—eventhoughshewillcallme

W̱UĆISTENEḴbecauseIworkinherGrade1classthisyear.Ibelievethatouremotional

competency—knowingabout,andspeakingtoourauthenticfeelings—canbeasourcethat

allowsustobondwithourlanguage,inmuchthesamewayasthe“languageofintimacy.”

Ideally,toabidebyauthenticityasaguidingvaluecanonlystrengthenourresolveaswegrow,

learn,andspeaktogether.

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Mytwominds:Learningoftheworldalloveragain

IhavechangedintheprocessoflearningSENĆOŦEN.IamnowanagentofSENĆOŦEN

transmission,onewhorevitalizesthelanguage.Iwouldliketospeakaboutashiftthathas

occurredinmythinkingasIhavecometoseetheworldthroughthelensoflanguageandthe

paradigmaticdifferencesbetweenEnglishandSENĆOŦEN,i.e.,thedifferencebetweentheway

wethinkandspeakinEnglish,andthewaywethinkandspeakinSENĆOŦEN.Ioftenjokethat

SENĆOŦENhasbecomemyalterego,theothersideofmysplitpersonality.

OneofthebarrierstomyspeakingSENĆOŦENhasbeeninconstructingphrasesthat

stemfromanEnglishthoughtIhave,forexample,apopularcatchphrasesuchas“Whatgoes

aroundcomesaround.”TherealityisthatthethoughtisnotformedfirstfromSENĆOŦEN.

Morerecently,IhavecometothinkofcertainthingsinSENĆOŦEN,andIhavestartedtospeak

withrelativeeaseonceIfiguredouthowto“thinkinSENĆOŦEN”usingSENĆOŦENgrammatical

structures.

Immersionlearning,bywayoftheMAPsetting,hasenabledmetothinkandspeak

“fromSENĆOŦEN.”Itseemstomethatbeingimmersedinalanguageislikebeinginalanguage

filter:thesituationsinthiskindofasettingallowedmetoformSENĆOŦENthoughts,or,as

Hinton(2002)emphasized:“usingthelanguageincontext”allowsone“tounderstandthe

meaningsofwordsandphrases…neverheardbefore”(p.7).Atfirst,Isearchedmymemory

andtriedtocreate“speakable”moments,muchaswiththetotalphysicalresponsethatcomes

withgameplay.ThroughmentorslikeW̱IJELEḴ,IbegantofiltermydefaultEnglish-thinking

languagethroughaSENĆOŦENscreen,whichprovedtobeamajorhindrancetotheprocessof

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communicatingbecauseIwaspreoccupiedbytheprocessoftranslating.DavidAbram

(1996/1957)discussesthecuriouslimitationsofdefininglanguage.Hesaysthat:

bypayingattentiontothismysterywemaydevelopaconsciousfamiliaritywithit,asenseofitstexture,itshabits,itssourcesofsustenance…perceptionunfoldsasareciprocalexchangebetweenthelivingbodyandtheanimateworldthatsurroundsit.(p.73)

Eventually,Ibegantoputtogethergrammaticallycorrectphrasesthroughtrialanderror,

followingtheexampleofmymentorwhomodelledpropergrammaticalstructure.

IhavealsostudiedSENĆOŦENonmyown,awayfromthesocialmilieu,whichhas

enabledSENĆOŦENthoughttosurface.Iwasabletodothiswiththehelpofwordlists,and

listeningtostoriesinSENĆOŦEN,withoutthehelpofEnglishtranslations,andwhereIcould

hearcompletesentences.Ialsostoppedtakingtranslationsofwordsonwordlistsforgranted;

andIstoppedassumingthatthetranslationsprovidedaliteralmeaning.Ilearnedtostopand

trytoprocesswhatisthereonthepage,andtrytomakeouthowitactuallysayswhatitsays.

W̱IJELEḴwouldrandomlyaskusifweknewthewordforsomething,orwewouldaskhimifa

certainwordactuallymeantwhatitappearedtomeaninW̱ENITEM,ḴEN—towhichheusually

replied,“Iguessyoucouldsaythat.”Afterhearingthatsomanytimes,Ibegantoquestionthe

translationsandwhetherIwasreallyunderstandingwhatIsawonthepage.WhatIeventually

realizedisthatthereisalmostalwayssomethinglostintranslation.Inowunderstandthat,until

themeaningofawordsisunderstoodincontext,onitsownterms—thatis,tounderstand

SENĆOŦENinSENĆOŦEN—somethingofitsmeaningwillusuallybemissing.

InthecourseoflearningtothinkandspeakSENĆOŦENinSENĆOŦEN,Ilearnedto

monitormyselfbywayofaself-editingprocess,muchlikethatdescribedbyKrashen(1982)as

optimal,whereImonitormyselfbutnotattheexpenseofcontinuingwithwhatIwastryingto

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say.Forexample,ifIblurtedoutaphrasewithoutworryingaboutmakingamistakes,Iwould

makeamentalnoteofit;ifthephrasedidnotfeelorsoundright,thenIcorrectedthephrasing

eitheronthespotorafterwards.

Finally,inthinkingabouthowImadethetransitionfromEnglishtoSENĆOŦEN,I

rememberstumblingacrossasimpletechniqueasIconsideredhowtomasterSENĆOŦEN

grammaticalstructure.IwouldthinkofhowYodafromStarWarsmightsaysomething.Asit

turnsout,Yoda’sphrasingoftensynchsupwithSENĆOŦENgrammar.Forexample,ifIwanted

tosay,“Iamhappy,”thenIwouldimagineYodasaying“happyIam”—reversingthepartsmuch

likeSENĆOŦEN:IYES(happy)SEN(Iam).Foranearlylearner,thisisagreatlittlemethod,

especiallyforanavid“StarWarsgeek.”

IthasbecomeeasiertospeakfromSENĆOŦEN,inpartbecauseIengageinSENĆOŦEN

conversationfrequently;themoreIspendtimewithotherswhospeakit,themoreclearand

easyitbecomes.Itwillonlycomewithtimeandpractice.Irecallworkingoverandoveron

memorizingprepositions,onlytogetthemmixedupagain.Meanwhile,Ihavedevelopeda

senseforcorrectSENĆOŦENform,aswellasquickerresponsetime.Ilikenthissenseofthe

acquiringthelanguage,again,tothelearningthetoneandrhythmofthelanguage,tuninginto

itssong,hittingthenotesandharmonizingwithwhatmygutsknowtoberight.This,combined

withmyin-depthstudyofrootwordsandmorphologyhashelpedtoinspiremySENĆOŦEN-

basedunderstanding.

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Mymotivations:I,TW̱STI,TEMOLENŚW̱,ĆȺII,U,MELELḴ,EQȻȽI,YEYO,SEṈETŦESḰÁLȽTE—Workhardanddon’tforgettoplaywithourlanguage:WorkandleisurewithSENĆOŦEN

OnowaMcIvor(2012)observesthat,atleastforadultlearners,motivationisakeyelementand

thatiflearnersarenothighlymotivateditisunlikelythattheywillacquirethelanguage(p.159)

Krashen(1982)pointsoutthat,alongwithimmersion,motivationhasbeendeterminedtobe

themostinfluentialfactorforlanguageacquisitionsuccess,accordingtoasurveyof“good

learners[optimalmonitorusers]”(p.37).Krashen(1981)alsopointsoutthat,aswellas

motivation,attitudeisessential,sayingthat“therightattitudinalfactorsproducetwoeffects:

theyencourageusefulinputforlanguageacquisitionandtheyallowtheacquirertobe‘open’to

thisinputsoitcanbeutilizedforacquisition(p.5).

TherearemanylayerstomymotivationsforlearningSENĆOŦEN.Thereisthepridethat

itgivesmeasW̱ILṈEW̱EȽTÁLṈEW̱[Indigenoushumanbeing];thereisourSYESES[history];

andthereistheidealofintergenerationallanguagetransmission,andmycommitmentto

speakingonlySENĆOŦENtomyṈENE.Mymotivesaretiedtomybeliefs,myvalues,my

attitude,andmysentiments.

Inthecourseoflearningfromourelders,Ihavealwayswantedtohonourthem.I

cherishedthemandhopedtoseethemsmile,knowingtheywereassuredthatwewere

carryingthelanguageforwardandthatthelanguagewasgoingtobesafewithus.

ĆȺII,ÍY,TESOLTŦUNIȽI,TOTELNEW̱I,ḰÁL—Workandleisureoflanguagelearningandspeaking

IlearnedSENĆOŦENattheoutsetbecausemyjobasaSENĆOŦENlanguagelearningapprentice

had,infact,requiredit,butakeytomysuccessinbecomingaspeakeristhatIhavecoupled

61

mynotionofworkethicwithleisure.IlearnandspeakSENĆOŦENinmyleisurewhilekeeping

myselfinthe“business”ofitaswell.InthiswayIamabletomaintainanefficientrelationship

withmylearningprocess,aprofessionalstandardwithmyworkplace,andanendearingand

personalrelationshipwithSENĆOŦEN.

Itisimportanttoworkhardonlearningthelanguage,butitisalsoimportantto

remembertohavefunwithit.InthewordsofSpeak’s(2008)DictionaryofProverbs“Allwork

andnoplaymakesJackadullboy.AllplayandnoworkmakesJackameretoy.”EXÁ,NEṈOL

ȻSUNIȽO?[Isthatnothowitissaid?].ThinknotofTheShining,8andtheOverlookHotel,with

JackTorranceandhiscrazyshenanigans,butratherthetruthofthematter—thathardworkisa

necessityinlanguagerevitalization,notonlybecauseitmakestheworkmeaningful,butalso

becauseitissatisfyingandentertaining.Theworkmustbetakenseriously,butifyouarenot

enjoyinglearningthelanguage,thenyouaredoingitwrong.Ifindmyselfembellishingthisidea

attimes,andmaybeguiltyofoverlyromanticizingSENĆOŦENideasandconcepts,perhaps

eventothepointoffantasy.Yet,werethisnottobethecase,IdonotknowifIcouldhavehad

thesuccesswithlearningthelanguagethatIhavebeenallowedtoachieve.

ÍYNEŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻENȻNEsU,ĆE,OUESNESḰÁLȻENTOLNEṈENE[Ifeelgoodtobe

usingmylanguagewithmydaughter].WhenIworkedwithourlateeldersIfoundvaluein

enjoyingthesatisfactionthattheygotasweprogressedwithusingourlanguage.Iwaslucky

enoughthatIthoughtaheadbecauseoftheconversationsthatIhadwithW̱IJELEḴ—especially

8TheShiningwasaniconicfilmproducedanddirectedbyStanleyKubrick(1980),basedonanovelbythesamename,writtenbyStephenKing(1977).Theiconicphrase(“AllworkandnoplaymakesJackadullboy”)isusedjokinglytowardcinemaphile(personswhoarepassionateaboutcinema)colleaguesofminewhounderstandtheseriousnessoflanguagerevitalizationverywell,butagreethatfunisimportant.

62

whenItoldhimthatIwasonlygoingtospeaktomyṈENEinSENĆOŦEN.Ididnottakethetime

toappreciatethefactthathewasnearingtheendofhislifebecauseIwasonlylookingforward

tointroducinghimtomydaughter.Hispassingwasatremendousloss,onethatreinforcedmy

pledgetospeakSENĆOŦENtoNEṈENE—myelationforSENĆOŦENrevitalizationwasrenewed

asIanticipatedherarrival.Ihopetoemanatethestrengthandproficiencythatmyelders

demonstrated,andIhopethatshewillnotonlysucceedwhichwhatIofferher,butthatshe

willadvancetoanotherlevel.Idonotsimplystrivetoadvancemyself,butseeitasmydutyto

setanexample,toprovideagoodstandardforspeakingSENĆOŦENsothatshecanraisethe

bar.

Ihaveastrongbeliefabouttheneedfor“myhand”intheefforttorevitalizeour

languageandindeterminingwhatneedstobedone.ItismyhopethatwepromiseSENĆOŦEN

tothecominggeneration,andthatitbeengagedwithatahighstandard.Perhapsthemost

importantthingIcandoissimplychoosingtospeak.Intheend,Ibelievethatthelifeof

SENĆOŦENrestswithwhetherornotwechoosetospeakit.Ibelievethatforthelanguageto

trulylive,itmustbespoken.Andso,Icontinuetobemotivatedtospeak,usingwhatIknow

andkeepingalivetheambitiontogrowinmyproficiency.Iholdtheharshtruth,thescarcityof

ourspokenlanguage,atarm’slength.Ifindmyselfhavingromanticvisionsofwhatarevitalized

SENĆOŦENlookslike,aliveinthememoriesthatweresharedwithus,encapsulatedin

ŦḴOȽEĆTEN’sstoryofbeingatthebeach,hearingthechatterofSENĆOŦENwhilepeoplewere

visitingwitheachother,andtheÍYŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻEN[goodfeelings]thatwerepartoftheback

drop.Letitbepartofthebackdropofourcommunitiesagain.

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Chapter4:JÁṈ,NOṈETȽTE—Wemanagedtoarrivehome

I,ȾIṈELSENȻENEŚW̱,O,EX̱.I,TES,NO,EW̱SENȻENESUȽÁL(Iamapproachingmydestination.Iamnearingtheshore).

ESEB,TSENSE—Iwillbringittoanend:Conclusion

Noneofthis—myopportunitytolearnSENĆOŦEN,thewayspeakingSENĆOŦENhasbeen

enabled,andmycurrentroleasalanguagerevivalist—wouldbepossiblewereitnotforour

elders,ourteachers,andallthosewhohavehadahandinW̱IYELḴEN,ISTESTŦESENĆOŦEN

SḰÁL[bringingourlanguageback].IraisemyhandsI,JI,ÁȽSENȻE[andgivethanks].Language

revitalization,orwhatFishman(1991)identifiesas“ReversingLanguageShift(RLS),”isagreat

undertaking.Itcanbeaheavyone,butthewillingnesstoundertakesuchataskshedslighton

howinvaluabletheundertakingis—howtremendouslyimportantandmeaningfulitistothose

whoundertakeit.Thissenseofvaluemakesthetaskoflanguagerevitalizationnotonlyeasier,

butenjoyable.Thereisstillsomuchworktodo—keepinginmindthatthefirststepoflanguage

revitalizationistolearnsomething,thesecondstepistoĆOȻESȻENsTOLNEW̱[usewhatyou

know],andthethirdistheimperative:EWESṮEQ,TTŦESONUSE[don’tletthefiregoout].

Mylearningandspeakingjourneyhasbeenoneofrelationality(Wilson,2008),of

family-communityandsocioculturalidentitybasedaction,towhichIcannotassumeexclusive

creditfor.IconsidermyselfanIndigenousresearcherandalanguageactivist.Iresearch

SENĆOŦENsothatIcanbecomemoreproficient;IalsoconversewithmySENĆOŦENcolleagues

inSENĆOŦENforthesamereason,butalsotopromotelanguagegrowthingeneraland,withit,

apositiveattitude.Fishman(1991)statesthatIndigenouslanguagesareindecline,either

becausethenumberofspeakershasdecreased,orbecausethenumberofpeoplewhoare

64

interestedhasdecreased.Heemphasizesthat“itmakesadifferencewithregardtowhich

futureRLS[ReversingLanguageSteps]aretobeadvocated”(p.44).Fishmannotesthatthese

stepsinvolvedoingwhatisclosestathand,thatitisimportantnottodoanythinggreaterthan

isreasonable,yetitisequallyimportanttodonolessthanwhatisrequired.Tothisend,hesets

outaGradedIntergenerationalDisruptionScale(GIDS),whichattemptstomeasurevarying

scalesoflanguagedisruptionandproposesactionsthatcanbetakentocounterthisdisruption

(p.87).

IhavebeenfortunatetohaveinvaluableSENĆOŦENresourcesthathavebeen

developedwithinthecommunity,bymyelders,myfamilyandmyfriends.Iamfortunatethat

ourSENĆOŦENorthographywascreatedbymySILELE—DavidPENÁĆElliott—becauseithas

givenmebothasenseofprideandadeeperunderstandingofitsrelevance,andultimatelyof

mydutytoSENĆOŦENlanguagerevitalization.IamalsofortunatethatIhavethosearoundme

withwhomeḰEL,NEUELSENȻETŦESENĆOŦEN[IspeakwithinSENĆOŦEN]—notonlymy

colleaguesandfriends,butmyfamily.

I,NEȾOMETTŦESȻÁ,ȽTEŚW̱,ḰÁLEȻENȻSUNIȽI,ȽEȻSILEṈEṮSENĆOŦEN[Andwe

shareonemindinourtransitioningofSENĆOŦENtothenextgeneration].

Ihaveusedmanystrategiesthathavehelpedmebecomeanactivelearner,tobe

affective,motivated,andpersistent.AccordingtomyownGIDSscale,Ifindthatitisimportant

tothinkintermsofbestpracticesandcoursesofactionforlearningandspeaking,tofindthe

optimalmeansofperformance,forexample,usingcardstotrainmetohaveabetterresponse

timewhenitcomestorespondinginconversation,usingself-talktocoachmyself,studyingroot

words,andpracticingconversation,allofwhichhavehelpedmedevelopmyproficiencyand

65

haveincreasedmyunderstandingoftheSENĆOŦENworldview).Itakeeveryopportunityto

speaktothosewhocanspeakSENĆOŦEN,butifIdonothaveanyonetotalkto,Iwillstillspeak.

Iwillspeaktomyself,andIwillspeaktoinanimate“things”andjustletmyselfgetridiculousifI

wantto.IfeelthefreedominallofthesewaysofspeakingSENĆOŦEN.Ihavetakenthe

initiativeforlearningandspeakingmylanguagebecauseitismyresponsibilityasa“language

revivalist.”Itisimportanttostrivetobebetter,nottobecomplacentafterhavingachieveda

minimalleveloflanguageproficiency.Moremustbeofferedifthelanguageistoberevitalized.

IlearnbecauseIwanttolearn,andbeinginvolvedwithSENĆOŦENfillsmewithpridebecauseit

issuchameaningfulpursuit.

Forme,themeaningofthispursuitcanbefoundinmyvisionofSENĆOŦENasaliveand

well.IhavehadtocometotermswiththefactthatIamanL2speakerofSENĆOŦEN.

Nonetheless,Istubbornlypersistinmyfantasy,myday-dreamofbeingafirstlanguagespeaker

ofSENĆOŦEN,ofspeakingaseloquentlyasmyelderswholivedlongagoandinadifferent

world.However,thesadtruthisthatthatopportunitywastakenfromusone-plusgenerations

ago,inlargepartbytheCanadiangovernmentandtheresidentialschools,whereitwas

forbiddentospeakourlanguage.Andyet,forthisnext,newgeneration,whichisaffordedthe

opportunity,thepossibilityofbeingL1speakers—thereinliesapromiseforthefuture.Fishman

(1991)setsoutthebottomline:“Itisinescapablytruethatthebulkoflanguagesocialization,

identitysocializationandcommitmentsocializationgenerallytakesplace‘huddledtogether,’

throughintergenerationallyproximate,face-to-faceinteractionandgenerallytakesplace

relativelyearlyinlifeatthat”(p.398).Hinton(2013)summarizestherewardsof“huddling

together”inBringingOurLanguagesHome:“Bestofalliswhenthegenerationwhogrewup

66

withtheirheritagelanguageathomeunderstandvalueofspreadingitfurtherandseeitasa

pleasurableactivity”(p.253).

AmongourXEUESI,W̱SÁNEĆ[newonesemerging,rising]isNEṈENE,whowilldojust

finesolongassheTOLNESȻNEsENÁNU,ṮI,IṈȻE[knowsthatIloveher]andEWESX̱ENIṈI,

ENEW̱ȻŦEḰEL,NEUEL[neverstopconversing]—foritiswiththeonesthatwelovewhowill

carrythelanguageforward.

SomethingisalwayshappeningwiththeSENĆOŦENlanguage,whetherbychoiceornot.

Thestateofthelanguageisdeterminedbyouractionorinaction,whetherwechooseto

concernourselveswiththerevitalizationofourlanguageornot.Istrivetohelpthelanguage

andincreasemyproficiencytothatofanL1speaker,evenifthatisan“impossibility”becauseI

havecometoknowfluentsecondlanguagespeakers,bothhereinW̱SÁNEĆandabroad.Ihave

witnessedthepotentialandseethatitispossible,andwitheachbenchmarkthatIachieveand

everystepontheladderIclimbinpursuitofmyproficiency,thelensthroughwhichIseethe

worldthroughSENĆOŦENeyesbecomesmorefocused,allowingmetoseeabiggerandclearer

W̱SÁNEĆ.

ȽÁLSENȻENESUJÁṈ,NOṈET.ÍYSȻÁĆEL[Iamashorenow.Andso,Ihavefinallymanagedtoarrivehome.Goodday].

67

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